*~*~*-a**amam*mma**g^mmmmmmma**m 

allop  s 
1 


Gallops 


Gallops 
I 

by 

David  Gray 


•-#* 


New  York 
The  Century  Co. 

1907 


Copyright,  1897,  1898,  by 
THE  CENTURY  Co. 


THE  DEVINNE  PRESS. 


TO 
ARTHUR  BRISBANE 


CONTENTS 

PAGE 

I.  THE  PARISH  OF  ST.  THOMAS  EQUINUS    .  i 
II.  BRAYBROOKE'S  DOUBLE-EVENT  STEEPLE 
CHASE       ......  27 

III.  How    THE    FENCE-BREAKERS'  LEAGUE 

WAS   "STUMPED"           .           .           .           .  47 

IV.  THE  RIDE  OF  HIS  LIFE        ...  67 
V.  THE  "TRANSFIGURED  PAIR"    ...  83 

VI.  THE  POPULARITY  OF  TOMPKINS   .        .  105 

VII.  CHALMERS'S  GOLD  PIECE  .        .        .        .125 

VIII.  THE  BISHOP'S  MISSIONARY  MEETING  .  149 

IX.  His  FIRST  RACE 165 

X.  CARTY  CARTERET'S  SISTER  .        .       .  197 


Gallops 


Gallops 
i 


THE    PARISH    OF    ST.  THOMAS   EQUINUS 

THE  bishop  settled  himself  in  an  arm 
chair,  crossed  his  short  legs,  and  gave 
a  sigh  of  relief  and  comfort  Through  the 
open  window  he  could  see  the  hills  across 
the  valley  and  the  two  spires  of  Oakdale 
village.  There  was  a  gleam  of  silver  in 
the  bottom-lands  where  a  bend  of  the  river 
revealed  itself.  Out  of  doors  the  air  was 
hot  with  the  afternoon  sun  and  murmurous 
with  insect  noises,  but  the  large  drawing- 
room  was  pleasantly  darkened  and  cool. 
The  bishop  felt  that  he  had  earned  peace, 
and  meant  to  enjoy  it.  With  half- closed 
eyes  he  watched  the  tea-things  brought  in 
and  the  two  slender  young  women  seat 
i  i 


2  GALLOPS    I 

themselves  by  the  table.  Mrs.  Alden 
Adams  began  to  make  the  tea. 

"  Did  you  have  a  good  time  ?  "  she  asked 
the  bishop. 

"  Yes,"  said  the  bishop ;  "  I  suppose  so. 
It  was  rather  extraordinary,  however. — 
Two  lumps  and  a  little  cream,"  he  added. 

"  Extraordinary  ?  "  Mrs.  Adams  echoed 
inquiringly  as  she  passed  the  cup. 

"  I  think  I  may  say  very  extraordinary," 
he  replied  in  an  injured  tone. 

Miss  Colfax  stopped  in  the  middle  of  a 
stitch — she  was  embroidering  something. 

"  I  suppose  the  rector  bored  you  to 
death,"  she  said.  "  I  hope  you  ordered 
him  to  stop  advising  the  farmers  to  put  up 
wire." 

"  Wire  ?  Wire  what  ?  "  asked  the  prel 
ate,  as  if  he  were  hearing  of  a  new  heresy. 

"  Wire  fences,  of  course,"  the  girl  re 
plied.  "You  can't  jump  wire." 

The  bishop  seemed  at  a  loss.  "  No,"  he 
said ;  "  I  suppose  not.  I  don't  want  to. 
But,  my  dear  young  woman,  I  have  n't 
seen  the  rector." 

"  Why,"  said  Mrs.  Adams,  who  was  try- 


PARISH    OF   ST.   THOMAS    EQUINUS       3 

ing  to  snuff  the  lamp  under  the  kettle,  "  I 
thought  you  and  Willie  had  gone  to  the 
rectory  in  the  victoria." 

"  That  's  what  we  were  going  to  do," 
the  bishop  answered,  with  a  resentful  note 
in  his  voice ;  "  but  we  gave  up  the  victoria 
and  your  horses.  The  ones  we  did  take 
made  other  arrangements." 

The  girl  looked  up  from  her  work. 
"An  accident?"  she  inquired. 

The  bishop  hemmed.  "  I  should  hardly 
call  it  an  accident.  An  accident  is  some 
thing  contrary  to  probabilities."  Both 
women  looked  puzzled.  "  My  young 
friend,  Mr.  William  Colfax,"  he  went  on, 
"  informed  me,  as  we  were  about  to  start, 
that  the  horses  harnessed  to  the  victoria 
were  such  '  rum  skates' — pardon  me,  those 
were  his  words — that  he  would  prefer  to 
take  me  with  some  of  his  own." 

"  I  am  glad  he  was  so  thoughtful,"  ob 
served  his  sister ;  "  it  is  n't  often  that  he 
is." 

The  bishop  scrutinized  the  girl.  She  was 
earnestly  embroidering.  The  corners  of 
his  mouth  twitched. 


4  GALLOPS    I 

"  It  was  thoughtful,"  he  continued. 
"  He  had  a  high  red  cart  and  a  tandem. 
Two  grooms  held  the  horse  in  front,  and 
there  was  another  at  the  head  of  the 
wheeler." 

The  girl  dropped  the  work  in  her  lap. 
"  I  think  Willie's  manners  are  improving," 
she  said  simply.  "  He  has  n't  been  so 
civil  to  anybody  stopping  in  the  house 
since  he  let  Carty  Carteret  ride  Man 
slaughter.  He  must  like  you." 

"  But  I  don't  think,"  Mrs.  Adams  ob 
jected,  "  that  a  tandem  is  the  proper  thing 
for  a  bishop  to  visit  one  of  his  rectors  in 
— not  the  first  time,  anyway." 

"  I  may  say,"  observed  the  bishop,  "  that 
this  thought  occurred  to  me  also." 

"Oh,  stuff,  Kate!"  the  girl  interposed. 
"  We  're  not  in  town.  You  're  ruffled 
because  Willie  said  your  victoria  horses 
were  skates — and  they  are." 

The  bishop  avoided  a  discussion  of  this 
question.  "  It  may  be,"  he  said,  "  but  I 
should  have  preferred  them  to  the  tandem. 
William  said  that  he  believed  his  horses 
were  safe,  or  if  they  were  not  we  should 


PARISH    OF   ST.  THOMAS   EQUINUS       5 

find  it  out.  Before  I  was  quite  in  the  cart 
the  front  one  pawed  one  of  the  men,  and 
they  let  go  of  him." 

.  "  What  could  you  expect  ?  "  said  the  girl. 
"  He  'd  never  been  put  to  harness  before." 

"  William  mentioned  that  fact  after  we 
had  started,"  the  bishop  continued.  "  At 
the  Four  Corners  we  met  a  steam  thresh 
ing-machine,  and  the  leader  took  the  road 
in  the  opposite  direction  from  the  village. 
Then  they  both  ran  away."  He  paused  to 
allow  his  words  to  take  effect.  The  bare 
fact  seemed  to  him  impressive  enough. 
He  reflected  what  a  terrible  picture  the 
newspapers  might  make  of  Bishop  Cun 
ningham  in  a  runaway,  and  he  considered 
how  he  could  soften  the  information  for 
his  wife. 

"  They  must  have  taken  the  Hemlock 
Hill  road,"  Miss  Colfax  said  thoughtfully. 
"How  far  did  they  run?" 

The  prelate  looked  annoyed.  "  Really, 
I  can't  say,"  he  replied.  "  I  don't  know 
the  country,  you  know.  At  first  your 
brother  thought  we  'd  stop  for  the  groom 
— we  had  lost  him  at  the  threshing-ma- 


6  GALLOPS    I 

chine.  But  the  horses  pulled  so  that  he 
asked  me  if  I  did  n't  think  we  would  better 
let  them  go  and  enjoy  it  while  it  lasted." 
He  swallowed  some  tea,  and  glanced  from 
one  to  the  other  of  the  women. 

"  You  could  n't  have  been  very  far  from 
the  Galloways',"  Mrs.  Adams  suggested 
uncertainly,  as  though  she  were  expected 
to  say  something.  "  We  dine  there  to 
night,  you  know.  Pretty  road,  is  n't  it?" 

"Is  it?"  said  the  bishop,  dryly.  Both 
women  laughed.  "  I  dare  say,  I  dare 
say,"  he  went  on ;  "  but  I  was  thinking  of 
something  else  than  the  scenery.  We 
stopped  the  horses  at  the  foot  of  the  hill, 
and  William  said  that  if  I  did  n't  mind 
putting  off  going  to  the  rectory  he  would 
go  in  and  trade  the  leader  to  Mr.  Gallo 
way.  He  said  that  it  was  no  use  bother 
ing  with  such  a  puller ;  and  I  quite  agreed 
with  him,  though  I  wished  he  had  come  to 
that  conclusion  sooner." 

"  Willie  had  promised  to  let  me  hunt 
Albion,"  said  the  girl,  regretfully. 

"  Never  mind,  dear,"  exclaimed  her 
aunt;  "you  can  have  Alden's  Thunder. 


PARISH    OF   ST.  THOMAS   EQUINUS       7 

I  think  he  's  afraid  to  ride  him  himself. 
But  you  missed  seeing  the  rector,"  she 
added,  turning  to  the  bishop ;  "  that  was 
too  bad." 

Miss  Colfax  laughed.  "You  did  n't 
miss  much,  and  you  did  have  a  good 
drive.  Of  course  it  was  n't  very  long, 
but  while  it  lasted  it  must  have  been  rare. 
I  've  never  had  a  tandem  run  with  me." 
The  prelate  looked  at  her  wonderingly. 
"  But,"  she  continued,  "  I  don't  see  how 
Willie  could  have  made  much  of  a  trade, 
with  Albion  so  wet  and  hot." 

The  bishop's  eye  lighted  up.  "  Yes ; 
that  was  rather  extraordinary." 

"Extraordinary?"  his  companions  re 
peated  together. 

"  How,  extraordinary?  "  Eleanor  asked. 
"  And  you  said  you  had  an  extraordi 
nary  afternoon,  too.  I  don't  see  anything 
extraordinary  about  it."  Sitting  erect, 
with  her  hands  in  her  lap,  and  a  shaft  of 
sunlight  burnishing  her  hair,  she  was  very 
beautiful,  and  as  the  bishop  looked  upon 
her  his  expression  softened. 

"  My  dear  young  lady,"  he  explained, 


8  GALLOPS    I 

"  I  am  a  stout,  elderly  person,  and  for 
twenty  years  I  have  gone  about  in  a 
brougham  drawn,  I  may  say,  by  a  confi 
dential  horse.  I  have  had  to  do  only  with 
the  things  which  are  the  duties  of  a  city 
clergyman.  I  have  been  a  bishop  but  six 
months,  and  this  is  my  first  introduction 
to  Oakdale,  which  my  venerable  prede 
cessor  sometimes  alluded  to  as  the  parish 
of  St.  Thomas  Equinus.  Some  things 
about  it  seem  a  little  new,  you  know — 
yes,  I  may  even  say  extraordinary." 

The  girl  looked  at  him  reprovingly,  as 
if  she  suspected  him  of  joking. 

"  I  suppose,"  said  Mrs.  Adams,  "  that 
you  are  not  much  interested  in  hunting, 
and  all  that.  I  know  a  man — Mr.  Fair- 
field,  the  architect — who  feels  just  as  you 
do  about  it.  He  says  this  is  the  dullest 
place  he  ever  got  into." 

"  I  should  n't  call  it  dull,"  protested  the 
bishop. 

"Well,  I  'm  glad  of  that,"  she  replied 
gratefully.  "  I  should  hate  to  have  you 
bored.  I  hate  being  bored  myself." 

Miss  Colfax  yawned  as  if  at  the  mention 


PARISH    OF   ST.  THOMAS   EQUINUS       9 

of  the  word,  and  put  a  slim  and  very  white 
hand  to  her  mouth.  "  You  have  n't  told 
us  yet  what  Willie  got  for  Albion,"  she 
said  lazily. 

"  I  am  not  quite  certain  whether  I 
know,"  the  bishop  replied.  "  It  was 
somewhat  complicated." 

"  Why  ?  Was  n't  Charley  Galloway  at 
home?"  asked  Mrs.  Adams. 

"  Oh,  yes.  We  met  him  in  the  drive, 
and  William  asked  him  at  once  if  he  could 
detect  anything  wrong  in  the  leader's 
wind.  He  said  he  had  galloped  him  six 
miles  to  find  out.  That  was  one  of  the 
things  which  struck  me  as  extraordinary." 

"  You  did  n't  think  Willie  was  so  clever, 
did  you  ?  "  asked  the  girl. 

"No;  I  did  n't,"  said  the  bishop. 
"  There  were  several  other  interesting 
occurrences,  however,  before  the  bargain 
was  concluded.  Mr.  Galloway  offered  us 
refreshments,  and  then  invited  me  out  to 
see  his  horses  jump." 

"  Only  his  green  ones,  I  suppose,"  said 
the  girl,  with  a  shade  of  contempt — 
"lunged  in  the  runway." 


10  GALLOPS    I 

"Was  that  it?  There  was  a  kind  of 
lane  with  a  high  fence  on  both  sides,  and 
barriers  erected  at  intervals.  The  stable 
men  shooed  the  horses  over  without  any 
one  on  them.  Then,  for  my  particular 
benefit,  Mr.  Galloway  ended  by  sending  a 
Jersey  cow  over.  You  know  I  am  the 
president  of  a  Society  for  the  Prevention 
of  Cruelty  to  Animals!" 

"Really!"  exclaimed  Mrs.  Adams,  as 
though  she  found  it  hard  to  believe. 

"  It  's  odd  the  way  he  loves  that  cow," 
observed  Miss  Colfax.  "  He  says  he  '11 
match  her  against  any  cow  in  America." 

The  bishop  nervously  gulped  down  his 
tea,  and  set  the  cup  on  the  table.  "  I 
think,"  he  said,  "  that,  if  you  will  allow 
me,  I  must  call  Mr.  Galloway  a  very  ex 
traordinary  young  man." 

Mrs.  Adams  laughed.  "  He  must  have 
had  that  waistcoat  on,"  she  said  mean 
ingly  to  her  niece. 

The  ghost  of  a  smile  softened  the  bish 
op's  mouth.  "  I  think  it  likely,"  he  said. 
"  It  was  red,  yellow,  and  black." 

"  There  's  blue  in  it,  too,"  Miss  Colfax 


PARISH   OF   ST.  THOMAS   EQUINUS      u 

added.  "  I  made  it  myself.  Kate  is  a 
little  envious  because  it  's  more  effective 
than  the  one  she  made  for  Willie.  But 
please  tell  us  how  the  trade  came  out." 

"  At  first  it  seemed  as  though  there 
was  n't  going  to  be  one.  Mr.  Galloway 
was  n't  sure  that  he  cared  for  a  steeple 
chaser,  or  that  he  had  anything  to  barter." 

"Yes,  of  course!"  the  girl  exclaimed. 
"  It  's  always  that  way.  Go  on,  please." 

"  But  finally  he  brought  out  a  big  sorrel 
horse  which  he  called  Lorelei." 

"  Lorelei?  Lorelei?  "  repeated  Miss  Col- 
fax.  "  How  was  she  bred  ?  "  The  bishop 
sat  up  with  a  start.  "  Oh,  never  mind ! " 
she  continued.  "  Probably  you  did  n't 
ask.  What  cut  of  horse  was  it  ?  " 

The  bishop  shut  his  lips  tight,  settled 
himself  again,  and  folded  his  hands. 

"  I  mean,"  said  the  girl,  "  was  it  a  har 
ness  horse  or  a  jumper?  " 

A  mental  conflict  was  going  on  inside 
the  prelate.  Was  it  meet  for  a  bishop  of 
the  Church  to  submit  to  all  this?  But 
the  tea  and  the  easy-chair  and  the  girl's 
gray  eyes  were  mollifying  his  indignation, 


12  GALLOPS    I 

and  his  sense  of  humor  was  reasserting 
itself. 

"  A  jumper,  I  think,"  he  answered  in  a 
resigned  way.  "  Mr.  Galloway  said  she 
could  jump  an  enormous  height — ten  feet, 
if  I  remember  correctly."  The  aunt  and 
niece  exchanged  glances.  "  He  said  he 
had  just  got  her  from  Long  Island,  and 
did  n't  want  to  part  with  her,  only  she 
was  too  slow  to  race,  and  he  had  plenty  of 
hunters." 

"  What  did  Willie  think  of  her? " 

"  He  asked  me  if  it  did  n't  look  as 
though  her  front  legs  had  been  fired — I 
think  it  was  fired." 

"  Probably  had  been,"  Mrs.  Adams 
interpolated. 

"  Well,  Mr.  Galloway  was  indignant 
about  it;  and  I  said  I  should  n't  venture 
any  opinion — in  fact,  I  said  I  had  n't  any, 
which  was  the  truth." 

"How  odd!"  said  Miss  Colfax,  looking 
at  him  suspiciously. 

"  Not  at  all,"  her  aunt  objected.  "  Some 
times  even  a  veterinary  can't  tell." 

"  They    examined    Albion    after  that," 


PARISH   OF   ST.  THOMAS   EQUINUS      13 

continued  the  bishop.  "William — very 
honorably,  I  thought — admitted  that  he 
pulled  a  little."  There  was  a  twinkle  in 
the  prelatical  eye.  "  But  he  expatiated 
on  his  wind  and  his  endurance,  and  recited 
his  pedigree." 

"  War-cry  out  of  a  Lapidist  mare,  sec 
ond  dam  by  True  Blue,  third  by  Long 
fellow,"  the  girl  repeated.  "  It  's  very 
good,  is  n't  it?  " 

The  bishop  looked  appealingly  at  Mrs. 
Adams. 

"Yes;  it  's  capital,"  she  said  reassur 
ingly. 

"  Do  you  mind  giving  me  a  little  more 
tea?"  inquired  the  bishop.  "But,"  he 
went  on,  "  Mr.  Galloway  said  that  he 
could  n't  think  of  exchanging  on  even 
terms.  He  suggested  that  William  should 
throw  in  a  dun-colored  pony  and  some 
kind  of  a  cart." 

"  The  pig !  "  exclaimed  Miss  Colfax. 

The  bishop  laughed.  "  William  seemed 
to  be  of  that  opinion.  He  intimated  that 
if  I  wanted  to  convert  a  Jew  I  had  the 
opportunity.  I  thought  it  was  wiser  for  me 


H  GALLOPS    I 

to  withdraw,  so  I  went  to  see  the  Jersey 
cow." 

"Well,  how  did  they  settle  it?"  asked 
the  girl. 

"  As  far  as  I  could  understand,  they 
arranged  a  balance  by  extending  the  scope 
of  the  negotiations.  Your  brother  secured 
Lorelei,  a  pair  of  cobs, — cobs,  I  believe, 
— a  brood  mare,  and  some  chickens." 

"  Charley's  game  Japs,  of  course,"  said 
the  girl,  half  to  herself.  The  bishop 
looked  puzzled,  but  disregarded  the  inter 
ruption. 

"  Mr.  Galloway  got  Albion,"  he  ex 
plained,  "  another  horse  named  Jupiter, 
the  cart,  the  dun-colored  pony,  a  fox- 
terrier,  and  a  lady's  bicycle.  It  was  very 
ridiculous;  don't  you  think  so?" 

The  women  seemed  not  to  hear  the 
question.  They  were  considering  the 
terms  of  the  trade. 

"  It  was  characteristic  of  Willie  to  trade 
your  bicycle,"  said  Mrs.  Adams  to  her 
niece. 

"I   don't  care,"   the   girl    replied;    "I 


PARISH   OF   ST.  THOMAS   EQUINUS      15 

never  use  it.  Did  he  tell  Charley  about 
Albion  running  away  ?  " 

"  Well,"  said  the  bishop,  slowly,  "  as  we 
drove  off  he  did  tell  him  that  the  horse 
pulled  a  good  deal." 

"  And  that  was  the  second  time  he  had 
told  him,"  said  Mrs.  Adams. 

"  Yes.  And  Mr.  Galloway  advised  your 
nephew  to  keep  the  mare's  legs  in  bandages 
for  a  few  days.  He  explained  that  they 
might  be  stiff  after  her  journey  on  the 
cars." 

"  I  have  my  suspicions  about  those 
legs,"  Miss  Colfax  remarked.  "  Charley 
is  a  bit  too  keen  for  a  gentleman."  She 
moved  idly  to  the  piano,  and  began  to  play. 
The  bishop  watched  her  with  growing 
amazement.  She  played  on,  perhaps  for 
ten  minutes. 

"That  was  very  beautiful — wonderful !  " 
he  exclaimed  when  she  stopped.  She 
nodded,  and  swung  herself  around  on  the 
piano-stool. 

"  Do  you  remember  whether  the  cobs 
were  light  chestnut?  "  she  asked. 


16  GALLOPS    I 

"I  do  not,"  said  the  bishop;  and  mut 
tering  to  himself,  he  left  the  room. 

THE  Alden  Adamses,  their  niece,  and 
Bishop  Cunningham  found  the  usual  party 
at  the  Galloways'  that  evening ;  but  young 
Colfax  sent  word  that  he  was  indisposed. 
At  the  last  moment  the  tip  had  come  that 
there  was  to  be  a  quiet  cocking-main  in 
the  village.  He  considered  the  advisa 
bility  of  taking  the  bishop,  who  seemed  to 
him  to  have  possibilities  worth  cultivating, 
but  decided  that  it  might  cause  talk. 

The  bishop  was  rather  confused  by  the 
fashion  in  which  the  people  at  the  dinner 
addressed  each  other  by  their  Christian 
names,  or  even  more  informally;  but  he 
sat  next  to  Mrs.  Galloway,  who  impressed 
him  favorably.  She  was  the  daughter  of 
a  Philadelphia  millionaire  who  was  a  pillar 
of  the  Presbyterian  faith,  and  she  had  been 
married  only  a  year.  It  was  her  first 
season  at  Oakdale,  and  the  bishop  experi 
enced  a  certain  feeling  of  relief  in  her 
company.  The  dinner  was  good,  if  the 
guests  were  somewhat  noisy;  and  the 


PARISH    OF   ST.  THOMAS   EQUINUS      17 

bishop  adapted  himself  to  the  conditions 
with  the  cheerfulness  of  a  liberal  church 
man  and  a  man  of  culture.  Mrs.  Gallo 
way,  he  found,  although  a  dissenter  by 
birth,  adopted  her  husband's  religious  pref 
erences  in  the  country;  and  she  was  so 
much  interested  in  the  bishop's  project 
for  a  boys'  gild  in  the  village  that  he  was 
encouraged  to  believe  his  first  impressions 
of  Oakdale  incorrect.  He  felt  again  as 
though  he  were  in  a  society  which  he 
understood ;  and,  furthermore,  the  reliable 
victoria  horses  were  in  the  stable  waiting 
to  take  him  home. 

Miss  Colfax,  who  sat  on  his  right, 
appeared  content  with  the  occasional 
remarks  which  served  her  other  neighbor, 
Jimmy  Braybrooke,  in  the  stead  of  con 
versation,  and  left  the  prelate  for  the  most 
part  to  his  hostess.  As  the  dessert  was 
served,  however,  he  became  aware  that 
Miss  Colfax  was  talking  down  the  table 
to  Galloway  about  the  afternoon's  horse- 
trade  ;  and  this  conversation  attracted  Mrs. 
Galloway's  attention  also. 

She  heard  her  husband  say,  "  Oh,  yes, 


i8  GALLOPS    I 

Lorelei  will  jump  anything."  There  was 
a  lull  in  the  talk,  and  the  words  came  dis 
tinctly.  She  looked  up. 

"Lorelei?"  she  repeated  half  aloud. 
Then,  raising  her  voice :  "  Charley  Gallo 
way,  you  don't  mean  to  tell  me  you  traded 
that  horse  to  Mr.  Colfax?  If  you  did, 
you  will  take  her  back.  You  told  me 
yesterday  she  was  broken  down  and  not 
worth  twenty-five  cents." 

A  roar  of  laughter  broke  from  the  men 
— all  except  the  bishop.  He  was  regard 
ing  Mrs.  Galloway  with  silent  admiration. 
Yet,  as  Varick  said  afterward,  he  must 
have  missed  half  the  joke,  because  he  was 
unaware  that  the  lady  spoke  with  the 
authority  which  clothes  the  bank-account 
of  an  establishment. 

Galloway,  the  unblushing,  was  for  once 
discomfited,  and  the  laughter  rose  again. 
Just  then  the  footman  whispered  some 
thing  in  his  ear,  and  he  hastily  left  the 
room. 

"  I  trust  there  has  been  some  mistake 
about  this,"  remarked  the  bishop,  benevo 
lently. 


PARISH   OF   ST.  THOMAS   EQUINUS      19 

"  He  ought  to  be  ashamed  of  himself," 
said  Miss  Colfax.  "  Willie  would  never 
have  done  such  a  thing.  It  's  dishonor 
able." 

"  Excuse  me,  Miss  Colfax ! "  said  Mrs. 
Galloway,  flushing. 

"  Goodness  me ! "  the  bishop  murmured. 
Then  in  his  professional  voice  he  began  an 
anecdote  that  figured  in  his  favorite  ser 
mon;  but,  to  his  relief,  Galloway  entered 
the  room  again,  and  all  eyes  were  turned 
upon  him. 

"  He  's  been  writing  Willie  a  check," 
Varick  suggested  in  a  loud  whisper.  But 
he  took  no  notice  of  Varick.  He  remained 
standing,  one  hand  on  the  back  of  his  chair, 
his  napkin  in  the  other.  A  smile  puckered 
the  corners  of  his  mouth. 

"  I  am  informed,"  he  said  pleasantly, 
"  that  Tim,  my  stable-boy,  has  broken  two 
legs,  and  that  Albion,  the  horse  I  got  from 
my  friend  Colfax  to-day,  has  broken  one. 
I  ordered  him  tried  on  the  steeplechase 
course,  and  he  ran  through  the  liverpool. 
They  shot  him.  And  Tim's  mother,  who 
is  Mrs.  Galloway's  laundress,  is  going  to 


20  GALLOPS    I 

prosecute  me.  She  says  I  had  no  business 
to  put  the  boy  on  such  a  horse." 

"Albion?  Albion?"  said  Captain 
Forbes.  "Is  that  the  horse?  Well,  he 
has  rather  an  ugly  reputation.  He  ran 
through  a  jump  over  in  Canada  last  year, 
and  killed  his  jockey." 

Another  burst  of  laughter  made  the 
candle-flames  tremble,  and  an  unholy 
smile  grew  upon  Mrs.  Galloway's  meek 
little  mouth.  It  was  a  smile  that  made 
the  bishop  shudder  and  turn  away  his 
head.  He  glanced  at  Eleanor  Colfax. 
Her  face  was  expressionless.  Her  lips 
moved,  but  in  the  hubbub  only  he  and 
Braybrooke  heard. 

"  I  am  very  sorry,"  she  said,  "  that  the 
little  idiot  broke  his  legs ;  but  he  probably 
pulled  the  horse  into  the  jump.  He  can't 
ride,  and  never  will  be  able  to  learn.  Mr. 
Galloway  should  have  known  better  than 
to  trust  him  with  the  horse." 

"That  's  exactly  it,"  Braybrooke  as 
sented,  while  the  laughter  of  the  others 
still  rippled  on. 

"  Bless  me ! "  said  the  bishop  to  himself, 


PARISH   OF   ST.  THOMAS   EQUINUS     21 

"this  is  extraordinary — most  extraordi 
nary!  I  beg  pardon!"  he  exclaimed, 
recovering  his  senses  and  rising  hastily,  for 
the  ladies  were  leaving  the  room. 

During  the  rest  of  the  evening  Bishop 
Cunningham,  the  practised  diner-out, 
opened  not  his  mouth.  When  he  eventu 
ally  reached  the  haven  of  his  bedchamber, 
he  took  up  his  diary,  as  he  had  done 
nightly  for  fifty  years.  Then  he  paused. 
The  events  of  the  day  passed  before  his 
mind's  eye  like  the  unordered  memories  of 
a  play :  the  red  dog- cart,  the  tandem,  the 
foppish  youth  who  calmly  guided  the  run 
away  horses  and  proposed  they  should 
enjoy  it  while  it  lasted ;  Mr.  Galloway,  his 
waistcoat,  the  jumping  cow,  and  the  pecu 
liar  incidents  of  the  horse-trade ;  the  tea- 
table,  and  the  two  fair  young  women. 

The  bishop  had  come  to  know  many 
curious  things  about  women,  for  he  had 
known  many  women  as  the  father  confessor 
does;  but  he  said  to  himself  that  these 
were  a  new  sort.  The  picture  of  the  girl 
rose  before  him  as  she  looked  when  she 
stopped  her  wonderful  playing  to  ask  about 


22  GALLOPS    I 

the  chestnut  cobs.  He  thought  of  her 
gentle  gray  eyes,  and  then  of  her  words 
at  the  dinner-table  when  she  heard  about 
the  boy's  accident.  "  Has  she  two  souls," 
he  murmured,  "or  none?"  From  Elea 
nor  Coif  ax  his  mind  turned  to  Mrs.  Gallo 
way  and  the  way  she  had  smiled,  and  to 
her  guests, — gentlefolk, — who  talked  of 
broken  bones  as  one  might  talk  of  but 
tered  muffins,  and  seemed  to  consider  the 
legal  doctrine  of  caveat  emptor  a  pleasant 
matter  of  course  in  horse-trading.  Ac 
cording  to  his  habit,  he  labored  to  classify 
his  impressions  in  the  pigeonholes  of  his 
mind,  and  to  index  them,  so  to  say,  in  his 
diary.  How  long  he  labored  he  knew  not, 
but  his  efforts  were  vain.  His  thoughts 
came  and  went  in  a  hopeless  jumble,  and 
the  page  lay  blank  before  him.  Suddenly 
he  heard  the  tall  clock  in  the  lower  hallway 
sound  its  prelude  of  muffled  arpeggios,  and 
then  two  low,  throbbing  strokes.  He 
dipped  his  pen  in  the  ink,  and  wrote 
hastily : 

Oakdale,  October  the  Twenty-fourth.— A  most 
extraordinary  day! 


PARISH    OF   ST.  THOMAS   EQUINUS     23 
And  below,  as  if  in  afterthought : 

Hast  thou  given  the  horse  strength?  hast  thou 
clothed  his  neck  with  thunder?    (Job  xxxix.  19.) 

Then,  with  a  sigh,  he  closed  the  book. 


BRAYBROOKE'S  DOUBLE- 
EVENT    STEEPLECHASE 


II 


BRAYBROOKE'S  DOUBLE-EVENT  STEEPLE 
CHASE 

JIMMY  BRAYBROOKE'S  pony  turned 
J  into  the  Hunt  Club  driveway,  because 
it  took  a  fancy  to  do  so.  The  reins  hung 
loose.  Braybrooke  was  thinking  about 
other  things.  Twenty  minutes  before,  he 
had  closed  an  interview  with  a  certain  girl 
which  caused  him  more  trouble  than  he 
had  ever  imagined  there  could  be  in  the 
entire  world.  A  lump  ached  in  his  throat, 
and  there  was  a  sick  feeling  lower  down. 
It  began  to  rain,  and  he  took  off  his  cap ; 
the  rain  on  his  head  was  grateful.  But  it 
was  all  his  own  fault,  he  reflected ;  he  had 
brought  it  on  himself.  Who  was  he,  any 
way  ? 

27 


28  GALLOPS    I 

He  answered  himself  bitterly  that  he  had 
never  done  anything  but  try  to  become  a. 
jockey,and  had  n't  succeeded  even  at  that ; 
his  own  stable-boys  laughed  at  his  riding. 
A  comforting  friend  might  have  pointed  out 
that  to  a  youth  of  twenty-four  with  twenty 
thousand  a  year  much  may  be  forgiven. 
If  such  an  idea  entered  Braybrooke's  mind, 
it  passed  quickly  out.  This  was  not  that 
kind  of  girl.  She  wanted  a  man  who 
could  be  somebody,  or  at  least  could  do 
something.  He  reflected  miserably  on 
the  years  in  which  he  had  steadfastly 
baffled  his  educators. 

"  I  can  read,"  he  groaned,  "  and  spell 
with  a  dictionary,  and  that  's  about  the 
limit.  I  'm  a  poor  lot." 

The  pony  took  the  path  that  led  past  the 
smoking-room.  Braybrooke  heard  the 
sound  of  voices,  and  mechanically  dis 
mounted.  Crossing  the  stirrups  through  the 
reins,  he  turned  the  horse  toward  the  stable 
and  moved  noiselessly  to  the  open  window. 
Through  the  slats  of  the  blinds  he  could 
look  into  the  room  without  being  seen. 

"  And  what  am  I  offered  for  that  good 


BRAYBROOKE'S  STEEPLECHASE         29 

mare,  Mrs.  'Awkins?  "  he  heard  some  one 
bawl. 

Mrs.  Hawkins  was  his  own  mare. 
Varick  was  on  the  table,  auctioning  pools 
on  the  steeplechase  that  was  to  come 
off  the  next  day  for  the  great  Oakdale 
Cup.  They  had  made  him  auctioneer 
because  he  had  a  talent  for  imitating  the 
speech  of  cockney  touts.  "  Shut  your 
eyes,"  Chalmers  used  to  say,  "  and  you  'd 
think  you  were  at  Guttenberg  in  the  old 
days." 

"  Do  I  'ear  fifty?  "  cried  Varick,  sarcas 
tically.  "  Only  fifty  for  that  lovely  mare, 
and  Mister  Braybrooke  hisself  to  ride?" 
A  roar  of  laughter  followed  the  mention 
of  Braybrooke.  "  Believe  me,  gents,  she  's 
the  faivrite,  Mrs.  'Awkins — by  Coster- 
monger  out  of  Lizer ;  and  the  only  Mr.  B. 
to  pilot." 

"  I  bid  thirty  cents,"  said  Galloway, 
dryly. 

"  I  say,  is  n't  that  a  bit  rough  ?  "  asked 
a  quiet-looking  young  man.  "  If  you 
don't  mind,  I  '11  make  it  five  dollars." 

"Bless    your     generous    heart!"     said 


3o  GALLOPS    I 

Varick.  "  Do  I  hear  six?  "  There  was  no 
response.  "And  sold  for  five  dollars  to 
Mr.  Abercrombie." 

"  Who  is  a  stranger,"  Galloway  ob 
served. 

Abercrombie  bowed  his  acknowledg 
ments,  and  became  the  owner  of  Mrs. 
Hawkins's  chances  in  the  pool,  which 
rapidly  grew  into  a  round  sum. 

"  A  good  horse,"  Captain  Forbes  re 
marked  to  the  purchaser ;  "  but  Bray- 
brooke  is  a  hoodoo." 

The  young  man  outside  the  window 
flushed. 

"  I  am,  am  I?"  he  muttered.  He  went 
softly  around  the  house  and  passed  in.  A 
volley  of  chaffing  remarks  greeted  him. 

"  Your  great  race-horse  is  sold,  O  for 
tunate  youth!"  said  Varick. 

"  Perhaps,"  said  Braybrooke,  quietly, 
"  some  of  you  fellows  would  like  to  bet. 
I  'm  backing  my  mare  even  against  the 
field." 

There  was  no  difficulty  in  getting  men 
to  bet. 

"  Keep    your    money,    my    son,"    said 


BRAYBROOKE'S   STEEPLECHASE         31 

Chalmers,  kindly,  putting  his  hand  on  the 
young  man's  shoulder.  For  answer  he 
made  another  entry  in  his  note-book. 
Finally  he  remarked  that  he  stood  to  win 
the  price  of  a  steam-yacht,  and  the  con 
sensus  of  sound  sporting  judgment  was 
expressed  by  Varick. 

"  Providence,"  he  said,  "  has  sent  this 
rich  youth  into  a  community  with  impaired 
incomes  and  refined  ideas  of  both  horse 
flesh  and  living.  It  would  be  ingratitude 
to  pass  him  by." 

For  this,  Mrs.  Innis,  his  widowed  sister- 
in-law,  called  him  a  horrid  brute,  which 
was  merely  more  evidence  that  Braybrooke 
needed  sympathy  and  common  sense. 

THE  verdict  of  the  Oakdale  Hunt  on  Bray 
brooke  was  neither  biased  nor  harsh.  He 
rode  heavily,  and  badly  for  one  who  had 
ridden  so  much.  His  judgment  led  him 
wrong  when  he  used  it,  and  when  he 
"  went  it  blind,"  as  he  usually  did,  he  was 
likely  to  perform  foolhardy  leaps  and  to 
commit  surprising  blunders.  And,  worst 
of  all,  he  was  truly  unlucky.  In  the  long 


32  GALLOPS    I 

series  of  steeplechases  held  by  the  Hunt  he 
had  usually  ridden  favorites,  and  had  regu 
larly  managed  to  get  them  beaten.  He 
seemed  incapable  of  remembering  instruc 
tions.  Several  times  he  had  ridden  to  the 
right  of  flags  he  should  have  passed  on 
the  left;  twice  his  horse  had  fallen;  and 
once,  to  his  never-ending  shame,  he  had 
fallen  off  his  horse.  Two  years  before,  he 
had  actually  come  in  first,  but  dismounted 
before  the  judges  gave  him  permission, 
was  duly  disqualified,  and  saw  the  second 
man  take  the  cup.  Mrs.  Innis  herself  ad 
mitted  that  it  was  hard  to  imagine  any 
course  but  a  deep  railroad-cut  over  which 
it  would  be  possible  for  Brooky  to  win. 

Therefore,  when  the  bugle  sounded,  and 
the  nine  horses  paraded  past  the  line  of 
four-in-hands  and  traps,  no  one  took  much 
notice  of  Braybrooke,  except  to  wonder 
in  which  particular  stupid  way  he  was 
going  to  lose  the  race. 

"  It  's  a  pity,"  said  Captain  Forbes, 
who  was  not  going  to  ride,  and  was  on 
the  Alden  Adamses'  yellow  drag,  "  that 
the  mare  can't  go  over  the  course  with  a 


BRAYBROOKE'S    STEEPLECHASE          33 

dummy  up.  She  's  uncommon  fit,  and 
she  knows  enough  to  win  by  herself;  but 
it  's  a  good  deal  to  ask  of  a  horse  to  have 
brains  for  two." 

The  tall  girl  on  the  box  beside  him 
turned  her  back,  and  began  polishing  the 
lenses  of  her  field-glass. 

As  the  riders  came  up  for  the  start, 
Braybrooke  knit  his  brow,  and  labored  to 
recall  the  parting  words  of  his  trainer. 
Conolly  had  said : 

"  Keep  her  head  far  to  the  right  at  the 
brushed  hurdle,  sir.  It  's  a  bit  higher 
there,  but  she  's  took  a  dislike  to  the  hole 
in  the  brush  on  the  left,  and  she  '11  re 
fuse." 

To  Braybrooke  those  words  were  mere 
sounds.  His  eyes  kept  wandering  down 
the  line  o^-four-in-hands  toward  the  yellow 
coach.  He  shut  them,  and  turned  his 
head  away.  He  called  himself  a  fool. 
Then  the  mare  reared  impatiently,  and  he 
began  to  feel  the  excitement  of  the  thing. 
He  found  himself  repeating,  "The  hole  — 
the  brushed  hurdle — the  hole — the  brushed 
hurdle,"  till  the  words  lost  all  semblance 

3 


34 


GALLOPS    I 


of  sense.  The  starter  called  out  to  him 
sharply.  He  turned  back  into  line,  and 
set  his  teeth. 

The  flag  dropped,  and  nine  eager  horses 
broke  away  together.  Braybrooke  found 
himself  galloping  easily  in  the  middle  of  the 
bunch,  the  mare  well  within  herself.  She 
drew  ahead  slightly,  even  under  his  heavy 
pull.  It  was  plain  that  she  was  the  speedi 
est  of  the  lot ;  the  question  was,  could  she 
stay? 

The  field  strung  out  as  it  swept  on  to 
the  first  jump,  for  the  cautious  were  will 
ing  to  wait  for  a  lead.  In  front  with  Bray 
brooke,  and  to  his  left,  was  Chalmers  on 
Tomahawk ;  to  his  right  was  Willie  Colfax 
on  Canterbury.  The  three  took  the  hurdle 
almost  together.  Presently  Mrs.  Hawkins 
began  to  draw  away,  and  she  was  gallop 
ing  so  handily  that  Braybrooke  let  her  cut 
out  the  pace. 

"  A  mile  of  this  will  do  for  Tomahawk," 
Chalmers  said  anxiously  to  Colfax,  who 
was  still  by  his  side. 

"  It  's  no  place  for  this  nag,"  was  the 
answer.  "  Let  Brooky  go.  He  '11  ride 


BRAYBROOKE'S   STEEPLECHASE         35 

out  soon.  When  he  gets  ahead  he  always 
feels  lost."  Braybrooke,  however,  kept 
steadily  on,  and  flew  the  water-jump  ten 
lengths  in  the  lead. 

The  course  led  around  the  great  mea 
dow,  over  a  broad  ditch,  over  another 
hurdle,  and  then,  with  a  curving  sweep, 
on  to  the  liverpool.  Chalmers  and  Colfax 
still  galloped  abreast.  Each  believed  that 
he  had  "  the  legs  "  of  the  other  on  the  run 
in,  and  was  glad  that  his  opponent  did  not 
force  the  pace  in  order  to  stay  with  Mrs. 
Hawkins. 

Braybrooke  was  now  twenty  good 
lengths  in  front,  and,  barring  accidents, 
obviously  had  the  race,  for  the  mare  was 
still  rating  along  under  a  pull.  But  the 
knowing  spectators  who  were  following 
the  race  with  their  glasses  had  seen  the 
same  thing  too  often  before  to  be  anxious 
about  their  bets  against  Braybrooke. 

"Two  to  one,"  said  Chalmers,  who  was 
beginning  to  pant,  "  that  he  goes  off  at 
the  liverpool." 

"  No  takers,"  gasped  Colfax,  with  a  grin  ; 
but  the  mare  never  swerved  as  she  raced 


36  GALLOPS    I 

at  the  ugly  jump ;  she  flew  rail,  ditch,  and 
hurdle  grandly,  and  was  on  again.  A  cry 
of  admiration  burst  from  Chalmers.  Col- 
fax  saved  his  breath.  He  was  shortening 
his  reins  and  settling  back  in  the  saddle. 
It  is  absorbing  to  go  at  a  stiff  liverpool, 
twenty  miles  an  hour,  on  a  horse  that  is  no 
longer  fresh.  Both  cleared  it,  but  Mrs. 
Hawkins  was  still  stretching  out  her  lead. 

"Afraid  we  're  done  for,"  puffed  Chal 
mers.  Colfax  nodded.  The  same  idea 
was  passing  through  Braybrooke's  mind. 
"  I  've  got  'em  beaten  this  time,"  he  mur 
mured.  He  smiled  and  stood  forward  in 
the  stirrups,  fancying  that  he  was  "  riding 
light."  The  course  turned  abruptly,  and 
the  brushed  hurdle  came  in  sight. 

"  Here  's  the  hole,"  he  muttered.  There 
was  a  bitten-out  piece  in  the  brush  at  the 
left,  and  he  began  to  ride  for  it.  As  he 
afterward  observed,  he  ought  to  have  dis 
charged  Conolly  for  mentioning  the  matter 
at  all.  When  a  person  tells  you  about  a 
hole  in  a  fence  while  you  are  mounting, 
you  would  be  an  ass  to  inquire  whether 
you  were  meant  to  profit  by  it ;  naturally, 


BRAYBROOKE'S   STEEPLECHASE         37 

it  would  never  occur  to  anybody  that  you 
were  meant  to  avoid  it  and  to  jump  big. 

Mrs.  Hawkins  began  to  pull  off  toward 
the  right,  but  Braybrooke  gathered  her 
firmly  and  drove  her  for  the  low  place  with 
the  spur.  The  trainer,  who  was  at  the 
finish  with  his  master's  glass,  turned  his 
back. 

Then  happened  what  is  likely  to  happen 
when  a  thoroughbred  horse  is  driven  at 
something  it  does  not  want  to  jump. 
Throwing  her  head  up  angrily,  Mrs. 
Hawkins  swerved  sharply  away  from  the 
hurdle  and  crashed  into  the  high  wing  on 
the  side.  Braybrooke,  not  anticipating 
this,  continued  on  alone  and  took  the 
hurdle  at  the  low  place.  A  hushed  cry 
of  apprehension  ran  through  the  distant 
crowd.  The  knowing  ones  laughed  to 
themselves,  and  felt  relieved  about  their 
bets.  Braybrooke  staggered  to  his  feet, 
dazed  but  uninjured. 

"Wonderful  leap!  "  called  out  Colfax 
as,  a  moment  later,  he  and  Chalmers,  still 
side  by  side,  swept  over. 

Braybrooke   reached   his    horse   as    she 


38  GALLOPS    I 

was  disentangling  herself  from  the  remains 
of  the  fence.  By  some  freak  of  chance 
the  end  of  a  splintered  board  had  caught 
through  the  head-stall.  With  a  vicious 
jerk  of  her  head  the  band  slipped  over  her 
ears,  the  throat-latch  broke,  and  she  tore 
herself  free.  Braybrooke  gasped.  He 
was  standing  beside  a  horse  without  bridle 
or  reins.  Varick,  on  Good  Morning, 
slashed  by  him.  He  glanced  at  the 
horses  in  front,  at  the  field  thundering  up 
behind.  Then  he  pushed  the  mare's  head 
toward  the  jump,  and  vaulted  into  the 
saddle. 

"  Get  off!"  he  heard  some  one  cry  from 
behind.  He  only  gripped  the  harder  with 
his  knees ;  but  he  knew  what  it  meant — 
three  jumps  at  the  end  of  a  race,  with 
neither  bit  nor  rein  to  steady  a  tiring 
horse. 

Following  Good  Morning,  Mrs.  Hawkins 
bucked  from  a  standstill  over  the  brush  at 
its  highest  point,  and  started  after  the 
leaders.  The  blood  of  twenty  grandfathers 
and  of  the  Godolphin  Arab  back  of  them 
was  running  in  her  veins.  She  was  a  race- 


BRAYBROOKE'S   STEEPLECHASE          39 

horse,  and  she  kept  the  track.  In  a  few 
strides  she  went  by  Good  Morning,  and 
threw  pieces  of  turf  into  that  weary  geld 
ing's  face,  which  disgusted  him  mightily 
and  his  rider  more.  Varick  dismally 
thought  of  his  long  odds. 

Colfax  was  about  eight  lengths  ahead. 
The  mare's  wonderful  pace  held  on.  As 
they  swung  into  the  stretch  she  passed 
him.  Chalmers  was  flogging  Tomahawk, 
still  three  lengths  in  the  lead.  He  thought 
Colfax  was  coming  up.  For  a  moment 
he  held  his  own,  and  the  cry  "  Tomahawk 
wins!"  began  to  come  from  the  carriages. 

But  Tomahawk  had  done  his  best;  his 
tail  was  waving  the  distress- signal;  and 
Mrs.  Hawkins  began  steadily  closing  up. 
Such  a  burst  had  never  been  seen  on  the 
Oakdale  meadow  before.  Twenty  yards 
from  the  flags,  Chalmers  looked  bewildered 
as  he  saw  the  mare's  little  head,  innocent 
of  harness,  forge  past  his  saddle.  He  for 
got  to  flog  Tomahawk,  but  it  mattered 
little ;  Tomahawk  was  a  beaten  horse. 

Braybrooke,  sitting  immovable  as  a 
statue,  shot  a  clear  length  in  advance,  and 


40  GALLOPS    I 

passed  between  the  flags,  while  the  hyster 
ical  shouting  that  greets  the  winner  roared 
down  the  line. 

An  excited  crowd  thronged  the  track, 
and  a  hundred  pairs  of  hands  stretched 
out  officiously  to  catch  the  bridleless  mare. 
She  kicked  one  man  on  the  knee-cap. 
After  that  they  gave  her  room,  and  she 
followed  the  joyous  Conolly  toward  the 
judges. 

Then  a  tall,  slender  girl  jumped  from 
the  box  of  the  yellow  coach  and  strug 
gled  through  the  crowd.  The  little  mare 
was  standing  quietly,  her  flanks  heav 
ing,  her  nostrils  flecked  with  foam.  Her 
eyes  were  bloodshot,  but  there  was  a 
mild  dignity  in  them  —  a  look  that  said, 
"  I  have  run  a  race."  The  girl  made  her 
way  to  the  horse,  shot  a  swift  glance  at 
Braybrooke,  and  flung  her  arms  about  his 
mount's  dripping  neck.  The  crowd  faded 
out  from  Braybrooke's  eyes,  the  hubbub 
died  away  in  his  ears.  His  senses  were 
lost  for  the  time  in  a  great  thrill  which  the 
look  in  the  girl's  gray  eyes  sent  through 
him. 


BRAYBROOKE'S    STEEPLECHASE          41 

"  You  've  spoiled  your  dress,"  he  said. 

Then  the  girl  blushed,  and  drew  back  in 
the  crowd.  Scores  of  hands  shook  his,  but 
it  was  as  if  they  had  not.  He  was  the  hero 
of  the  day,  but  the  victory  seemed 
strangely  different  from  the  thing  he  had 
imagined  so  often.  He  weighed  in  me 
chanically,  and  passing  his  hand  across  his 
eyes,  followed  the  mare  toward  the  trap 
where  the  blankets  were. 

"  The  fall  must  have  shaken  him  up," 
he  heard  some  one  say.  Perhaps  it  had. 
The  crowding  figures  seemed  far  off  and 
strange.  He  put  his  face  to  the  mare's 
sweaty  neck  where  the  girl's  arms  had 
been,  and  kissed  it.  Forbes  smiled. 
"  She  's  won  his  first  race  for  him,"  he 
said  to  the  man  with  him,  who  was  a 
visitor.  "Good  boy,  Jimmy!"  he  added 
to  Braybrooke,  and  Braybrooke  nodded 
absently. 

The  stable-boys  put  the  blankets  on, 
and  asked  him  if  he  wished  anything 
special  done  for  the  mare.  He  told  them 
to  spray  her  off  knee, — she  had  rapped  it 
going  into  the  wing  of  the  jump, — and 


42  GALLOPS    I 

they  led  her  away.  A  stiffness  in  the 
region  of  his  shoulder-blades  gave  warning 
that  he  himself  was  going  to  have  a  lame 
back.  Conolly,  who  had  lingered,  noted 
his  cautious  experiments  with  the  bruised 
muscles. 

"  They  say  you  went  over  pretty  fast, 
sir,"  he  observed,  "  but  I  did  n't  see  it 
meself.  I  turned  me  back,  sir,  when  I  see 
you  making  for  the  hole." 

"  Conolly,"  said  Braybrooke,  "  if  you 
had  n't  mentioned  the  hole  I  should  have 
jumped  the  high  place  and  never  got 
tangled  up  in  the  wing.  But,  then, — you 
probably  think,  whether  you  say  it  to  me 
or  not, — the  mare  would  n't  have  lost  her 
bridle,  and  I  should  have  got  out  of  the 
course  as  usual.  I  don't  agree  with  you, 
but  I  think  I  '11  have  to  raise  your  wages." 

The  man  touched  his  hat  impassively. 
"  It  's  a  great  cup  you  've  won,  sir,"  he 
said. 

"You  're  right,"  said  Braybrooke;  "it 
is." 

And  so  it  was.  They  christened  it  that 
night  at  the  Alden  Adamses'  dinner. 


BRAYBROOKE'S   STEEPLECHASE         43 

Varick  made  a  mysterious  speech,  and 
named  it  the  Great  Double-Event  Cup. 
But  by  that  time  everybody  at  the  dinner 
knew  what  the  second  event  was,  so  no 
one  was  really  mystified,  and  Miss  Colfax 
began  to  receive  good  wishes  and  "  God 
bless  you  "  glances  before  Varick  gave  his 
"double  toast"  and  called  on  "the  win 
ner"  to  respond. 


HOW  THE  FENCE-BREAKERS' 
LEAGUE  WAS  "STUMPED" 


Ill 


HOW  THE  FENCE-BREAKERS'  LEAGUE 
WAS  "STUMPED" 

THE  morals  and  practices  of  the  Fence- 
Breakers'  League  had  reached  a 
point  where  they  demanded  and  had  re 
ceived  the  attention  of  the  officers  of  the 
Hunt.  It  is  sound  hunting  doctrine  to 
ride  straight  when  the  hounds  are  running, 
and  to  turn  aside  only  for  wire  and  wheat : 
for  wire,  because  a  man  is  supposed  to 
consider  his  horse,  whether  he  considers 
himself  or  not;  for  wheat,  because  in 
America  fox-hunting  exists  by  the  cour 
tesy  of  free  and  independent  landowners. 
But  when  the  pack  is  not  in  cry  the 
authorities  hold  it  bad  manners  to  en 
danger  the  fences  by  choosing  the  highest 
47 


48  GALLOPS    I 

panels,  and  immoral  to  jump  at  all  when 
there  are  open  gates. 

In  the  Oakdale  Hunt  there  was  a  fac 
tion  of  unbalanced  youth  which  violated 
these  precepts,  at  first  on  the  sly,  then 
openly  and  without  shame.  It  is  a  great 
pity  that  all  the  best  sports  should  be 
subject  to  the  same  corrupting  evil — the 
rivalry  of  the  reckless.  With  polo  and 
hunting  it  develops  dangerously,  and  is 
usually  cured  only  by  some  one  getting 
seriously  broken.  When  a  master  of  fox 
hounds  notes  "  jealous  riding  "  he  begins 
to  tremble  for  his  puppies,  which  are  in 
danger  of  being  ridden  down,  and  to  pre 
pare  himself  for  an  era  of  accidents  and 
agrarian  difficulties. 

The  Fence-Breakers'  League  exempli 
fied  this  evil  in  its  most  virulent  form. 
Their  name  had  been  given  as  a  stigma, 
in  the  vain  hope  that  it  might  shame  them 
into  mending  their  ways.  They  accepted 
it,  however,  as  a  distinction,  proceeded  to 
organize,  to  elect  officers,  and  to  institute 
weekly  dinners,  of  which  the  less  said  the 
better.  It  was  after  one  of  these  dinners 


THE    FENCE-BREAKERS'   LEAGUE        49 

that  the  great  Moonlight  Steeplechase  was 
run. 

Captain  Forbes,  with  the  interests  of 
the  Hunt  at  heart,  undertook  to  remon 
strate  privately  with  Varick. 

"  This  thing  is  causing  no  end  of  trouble," 
he  said.  "  You  have  broken  half  the  fences 
in  the  county,  and  the  farmers  are  mad 
clean  through.  I  can  understand  those 
fool  boys  acting  in  such  a  way,  but  I 
really  am  surprised  that  you  should  en 
courage  them."  Varick  was  thirty-five, 
and  might  have  been  a  brilliant  lawyer  if 
he  had  not  chosen  to  jeer  at  the  earnest 
ness  of  a  utilitarian  generation,  and  to 
become  an  indifferent  horse-jockey. 

"  Forbes,"  said  he,  "  you  are  a  man 
whom  youth  overlooked." 

"Bosh!"  said  the  captain;  "do  be 
serious." 

"  You  are  beguiling  me  to  disparage 
that  generous  disregard  of  consequences 
which  gives  life  its  poetry  and  hope. 
However,  I  could  n't  stop  the  thing  if  I 
wanted  to.  You  know  as  well  as  I  do 
that  boys  who  jump  oak  gates  when  no 


50  GALLOPS    I 

one  is  looking  are  not  open  to  argument. 
Take  Galloway.  Galloway  is  unaffectedly 
insane  about  horses.  He  thinks  and 
dreams  of  nothing  else ;  and  it  is  as  much 
to  him  to  take  his  black  mare  over  some 
thing  no  one  else  will  jump  as  it  is  for  a 
doctor  to  find  a  new  disease.  He  keeps 
a  diary  of  all  his  fences  over  five  feet,  goes 
back  next  day  with  a  tape,  and,  when 
possible,  kodaks  them  too.  He  intends 
to  publish  a  work  entitled,  '  Fences  I  have 
Jumped.'  Can  I  conscientiously  urge  him 
to  renounce  all  that  makes  life  worth  while 
for  him,  and  would  he  renounce  it  if  I 
did?  The  rest  of  the  crowd  are  all  more 
or  less  on  the  same  pattern — excepting 
myself." 

"  Well,"  said  Forbes,  who  was  getting 
impatient,  "what  are  you?" 

"  I  am  an  Epicurean  philosopher.  I 
jump  things  because  I  am  afraid ;  and  the 
pleasure  I  experience  when  I  am  over  is 
worth  an  occasional  spill.  I  also  like  to 
be  thought  something  of  a  devil.  Besides, 
you  and  Crawford" — Crawford  was  the 
M.  F.  H. — "  take  fox-hunting  with  such 


THE   FENCE-BREAKERS'  LEAGUE       51 

elaborate  seriousness,  and  are  such  chil 
dren  of  dogma,  that  I  encourage  schism 
and  strife  simply  for  the  joy  of  it.  Forbes, 
I  might  have  been  a  great  revolutionist — " 

"You  be  blanked!"  said  the  captain, 
and  departed.  This  ended  the  effort  to 
abate  the  Fence-Breakers'  League  by 
means  of  sweet  reasonableness. 

"  The  tomb  yawns  for  them,"  said  the 
M.  F.  H.  when  he  heard  Forbes's  story; 
"  and  I  am  half  sorry  it  has  been  disap 
pointed  so  long.  This  Hunt  is  becoming 
intolerable  for  decent  hunting-men." 

Then  the  governors  imposed  fines  for 
breakage  till  the  club  bank-account  swelled 
to  unrecognizable  proportions;  but  the 
Fence-Breakers'  League  paid  with  cheer 
fulness. 

"  We  are  now  indebted  to  no  man," 
Varick  explained ;  "  and  a  great  deal  of 
money  is  not  to  be  compared  with  the 
satisfaction  of  self-respect.  The  tedium 
of  drawing  blank  coverts  loses  its  terror 
when  a  man  can  hear  his  horse's  hind  feet 
trail  through  a  board  fence  without  a 
pang  of  conscience."  And  so  the  Fence- 


52  GALLOPS    I 

Breakers'  League  grew  steadily  more  de 
moralized  and  demoralizing. 

Said  the  master,  finally :  "  I  am  afraid 
only  sudden  death  will  stop  this  nonsense. 
Of  course  it  is  prejudicial  to  the  sport  to 
have  people  killed,  but  in  this  case  I  think 
it  would  be  best." 

The  following  Saturday  the  Fence- 
Breakers'  League  were  gathered  in  the 
club  smoking-room,  discussing  the  proba 
bility  of  a  dull  afternoon,  while  they 
waited  for  the  hounds.  On  Saturdays 
there  were  bigger  fields,  and  wretched 
one-day-a-week  men  who  came  down 
from  town  were  sure  to  get  in  the  way 
and  crowd.  Besides,  it  was  too  dry  to 
expect  good  scent. 

"  This  is  the  kind  of  afternoon,"  said 
Galloway,  "  when  you  insult  a  good  horse 
by  taking  him  out."  A  flabby  young  man 
who  was  not  among  the  half-dozen  of  the 
Fence-Breakers'  League  agreed  with  him. 

"  On  dry  days,"  said  he,  "  Crawford 
ought  to  give  us  a  point-to-point  for  a 
sweepstake  cup." 

Galloway   smiled,   because    this    young 


THE   FENCE-BREAKERS'   LEAGUE        53 

man  was  apt  to  be  taken  ill  before  a  stee 
plechase.  But  the  talk  stopped,  for  the 
M.  F.  H.  himself  unexpectedly  entered, 
followed  by  a  stranger. 

"  Here,  Charley,"  said  he,  "  I  want  you 
to  know  some  of  these  fellows.  When  you 
get  lost  this  afternoon,  they  will  look  after 
you."  He  called  off  the  names  of  the 
group  of  men,  while  the  stranger  acknow 
ledged  the  introductions  with  stiff  nods. 
Just  then  a  cracking  of  whips  in  the  dis 
tance  told  the  M.  F.  H.  that  the  hounds  had 
started  from  the  kennels,  and  he  hurried  out. 

The  M.  F.  H.  was  absent-minded,  and 
apt  to  introduce  people  in  this  one-sided 
fashion;  and  he  often  produced  exceed 
ingly  queer  persons,  such  as  are  rarely 
seen  in  a  hunting-country.  He  had  been 
at  school  in  England,  and  had  lived  pretty 
much  everywhere.  Varick  used  to  say 
that  he  had  met  chums  of  Crawford's  all 
the  way  from  the  North  Cape  to  Fiji. 

The  stranger  who  had  thus  been 
intrusted  to  the  keeping  of  the  Fence- 
Breakers'  League  was  a  short,  insignifi 
cant-looking  man,  about  fifty,  with  a  red, 


54  GALLOPS    I 

smoothly  shaven  face  and  small  white 
hands.  Instead  of  top-boots  and  proper 
hunting-things,  he  wore  tweed  breeches, 
with  gaiters,  and  a  rough  shooting-coat. 
This  coat  was  peculiar.  Its  skirts  were 
cut  back  so  little  that  they  hid  the  thighs, 
suggesting  a  frock-coat  rather  than  a  cut 
away.  When  the  man  walked  he  limped 
stiffly,  and  two  curious  loops  showed  on 
his  right  breeches'  leg  just  below  the  hip. 
They  were  like  the  loops  sewed  on  the 
waistband  of  breeches  to  hold  a  belt. 

It  was  obvious  that  the  newcomer  was 
something  odd.  It  was  also  clear  that  he 
was  not  a  hunting-man,  for  the  M.  F.  H. 
had  referred  to  his  getting  lost  as  a  matter 
of  course.  Committing  him  to  the  care  of 
the  Fence-Breakers'  League  under  these 
circumstances  seemed  a  rather  merciless 
practical  joke,  but  the  M.  F.  H.  had  a 
weakness  for  such  jokes. 

Galloway  was  next  to  the  newcomer, 
and  felt  called  upon  to  make  conversation ; 
also,  he  was  not  without  a  healthy  curi 
osity  to  find  out  who  the  man  was. 

"  Pretty  hot,"  Galloway  began. 


THE    FENCE-BREAKERS'   LEAGUE        55 

"Yes,"  said  the  stranger;  "too  hot  to 
ride  much." 

"  Your  first  time  in  the  Oakdale  coun 
try?" 

"Yes." 

"  Brought  any  horses  down?  " 

"  No." 

"  Seen  the  hounds  yet?" 

"No." 

"  Pretty  fair  pack.  Got  ten  new  couples 
from  the  Earl  of  Reddesdale's  kennels." 

"Yes,  I  know." 

"  Had  more  rain  in  your  country?" 

"Yes." 

"  Too  dry  here  for  much  sport." 

"Yes;  too  dry,  quite." 

"  Have  something  to  drink?" 

"Thanks,  no." 

"  Excuse  me,  I  will"  ;  and  Galloway  beat 
a  retreat  to  the  lunch- room. 

"Well,"  said  Varick,  who  had  followed 
him,  "  your  friend  is  hardly  garrulous." 

Galloway  scowled.  "  This,"  said  he, 
"  is  the  last  time  I  shall  try  to  make  things 
pleasant  for  people  I  don't  know.  What 
do  you  suppose  that  fellow  is?" 


56  GALLOPS    I 

"  Some  little  painter-man,  I  dare  say ; 
sticks  his  brushes  through  those  straps  on 
his  trousers'  leg.  He  probably  feels  bash 
ful,  and  out  of  it,  with  so  much  horse  all 
around.  You  ought  to  have  talked  art  at 
him." 

"Well,"  said  Galloway,  "  I  am  not  re 
vengeful;  but,  all  the  same,  I  think  I  owe 
him  one  out  of  self-respect.  If  I  get  the 
chance,  I  shall  treat  that  painter-man  to 
a  few  thrills.  Let  's  have  another  look  at 
him."  They  went  to  the  door  of  the 
smoking-room.  The  stranger  was  in  a 
corner  by  the  window,  with  a  book. 

"  That  's  our  copy  of  Tennyson,"  said 
Varick ;  "  I  know  the  cover.  Perhaps 
he  's  a  poet." 

"  If  I  can  get  him  to  jump,"  said  Gallo 
way,  "  I  sha'n't  care  what  he  is.  Still,  a 
leaping  poet  would  be  especially  worth 
encouraging.  Hello!  there  's  the  horn." 
They  hurried  out  to  their  horses,  mounted, 
and  followed  the  pack  down  the  drive. 

The  day  was  too  dry  for  scent,  as  had 
been  foreseen.  The  field  pottered  about 
from  one  blank  covert  to  another,  and  the 


THE   FENCE-BREAKERS'    LEAGUE        57 

members  of  the  Fence-Breakers'  League 
endeavored  to  work  off  their  restlessness 
by  such  means  as  were  at  hand.  They 
"  larked "  five-foot  rails  and  regulation 
four-boarders,  plain  and  with  ditch  accom 
paniments.  They  tackled  all  the  stone 
walls  that  seemed  worthy,  and  enjoyed 
themselves  generally,  rousing  the  envy  of 
such  as  would  have  liked  to  imitate  them 
but  were  afraid,  and  exciting  the  disgust 
of  the  mature.  Finally  the  league  resolved 
to  pull  out  in  a  body,  in  order  to  express 
their  censure  of  the  M.  F.  H.  for  offering 
such  wretched  sport,  and  "  to  take  a  ride." 
Only  the  long-suffering  farmers  across 
Whose  lands  the  course  of  these  Fence- 
Breakers'  "  rides  "  have  lain  can  do  them 
justice.  The  motto  which  Varick  had  be 
stowed  upon  the  society  was  Fit  via  vz, 
and  classicists  translate  it,  "  A  way  is  made 
by  force."  But  the  M.  F.  H.  said  he  pre 
ferred  Willie  Colfax's  personal  version, 
"  Fits  by  the  way,"  although  either  render 
ing  was  appropriate. 

"  Varick,"    said    Galloway,    "  start    the 
procession   for   the   meadow   bridge,    and 


58  GALLOPS    I 

I  '11  get  that  poet  chap  to  come  along. 
Keep  the  road  as  far  as  you  can,  and  don't 
jump  anything  till  we  get  across.  My 
conscience  is  clear,  for  Crawford  has  put 
him  up  on  the  Duke."  This  was  the 
master's  very  best  horse. 

The  meadow  bridge  belonged  to  a 
farmer  who  owned  the  land  on  both  sides 
of  the  stream,  and  was  chiefly  used  to 
take  his  cattle  from  one  pasture  to  the 
other.  The  banks  were  too  steep  to  climb, 
and  the  river  was  too  deep  to  ford,  even 
if  there  had  been  a  path  down  to  it.  Be 
yond  the  bridge,  and  between  it  and  the 
village,  was  a  series  of  the  stiffest,  biggest 
post-and-rail  fences  in  the  county.  A  ma*, 
who  rode  over  this  course  needed  a  good 
horse  and  a  big  heart,  or — what  some 
times  passes  for  the  same  thing — a  big 
flask.  They  called  it  the  "  devil's  run." 

Galloway  found  the  stranger,  looking 
badly  bored,  on  the  edge  of  a  piece  of 
woods  which  the  master  was  drawing. 
The  breeze  flapped  his  coat  skirts  back,  and 
showed  a  stout  strap  passed  through  the 
mysterious  loops  on  his  right  breeches'  leg. 


THE    FENCE-BREAKERS'   LEAGUE        59 

"  Ruptured  muscle,  I  guess,"  muttered 
Galloway  to  himself.  "  Perhaps  I  ought  n't 
to — "  But  he  conquered  his  scruples  and 
unfolded  his  proposition. 

"Too  late  for  anything  to-day.  Half 
a  dozen  of  us  are  going  to  pull  out,  and 
I  thought  you  might  like  to  come  along. 
Crawford  's  so  mad  at  not  finding  that 
he  's  likely  to  stop  out  all  night.  Instead 
of  going  back  over  the  iron  bridge  we  '11 
cross  three  miles  lower  down.  Pretty  bits 
of  scenery  all  along.  Better  come." 

"  Much  obliged,"  said  the  stranger.  "  I 
think  I  will.  This  is  slow."  He  started 
his  horse,  rising  awkwardly  to  the  long  trot, 
and  Galloway  rode  beside  him,  gloating. 

"Charming  vista,  is  n't  it?"  he  said, 
judging  it  best  to  give  his  conversation  an 
artistic  flavor.  "  I  suppose  you  are  fond 
of  landscape." 

"  I  want  my  tea,"  said  the  stranger. 
"  Crawford  overlooked  lunch  completely." 

Galloway  was  somewhat  taken  aback. 
"  Well,  the  way  we  are  going  is  a  short 
cut,"  he  observed.  For  the  first  time  that 
day  the  stranger's  countenance  relaxed 


60  GALLOPS    I 

into  something  like  a  smile.  "  I  Ve 
touched  his  stomach,"  thought  Galloway; 
"he  '11  come." 

They  overtook  the  rest  of  the  party 
and  turned  into  the  river  road.  Varick 
had  explained  what  was  on  foot,  and  the 
Fence-Breakers'  League  hacked  along  as 
decorously  as  a  riding-school  class  in  the 
park.  Here  and  there  a  wall,  here  and 
there  a  line  of  wicked-looking  pickets, 
tempted  Galloway  sorely;  but  he  con 
quered  his  desires.  He  even  reproved 
Willie  Colfax,  who  weakly  suggested  just 
one  two-dollar  competition  over  a  lovely 
new  oak  gate.  Had  the  M.  F.  H.  been 
there,  he  would  have  doubted  his  senses. 

The  light  of  the  short  October  afternoon 
failed  rapidly,  and  it  was  almost  dusk 
when  they  reached  the  bridge.  Varick 
was  riding  ahead,  and  started  out  over  the 
rather  crazy  structure.  Suddenly  he 
pulled  up  short. 

"  Here  's  a  mess!"  he  exclaimed;  "this 
thing  is  open." 

The  owner  had  taken  up  a  dozen  boards 
to  prevent  the  cattle  from  crossing.  Forty 


THE   FENCE-BREAKERS'  LEAGUE        61 

feet  below  was  the  water,  looking  dismally 
black.  Galloway  rode  out,  surveyed  the 
situation,  and  came  back  swearing  elo 
quently  in  subdued  tones.  There  was  no 
talk  of  jumping.  A  slip  at  the  take-off,  the 
least  mistake,  and  horse  and  man  would 
rattle  down  through  the  underpinning  into 
the  water. 

"  The  devil !  "  said  Galloway,  soulfully ; 
and  he  gazed  at  the  distant  lines  of  fence, 
and  the  village  spires  beyond  them,  dim 
against  the  sky. 

"  It  's  sure  death,"  said  Varick.  "  It  's 
twelve  feet,  if  it  's  an  inch ;  and  I  am  too 
old  to  die.  We  might  as  well  get  started 
back,  for  it  's  six  miles  around  to  the 
other  bridge." 

The  stranger,  who  had  inspected  the 
gap,  only  half  heard.  He  rode  alongside 
of  Galloway. 

"How  far  to  the  other  bridge?"  he 
asked. 

"  Six  miles,"  replied  Galloway,  sourly. 

"Six  miles!"  he  exclaimed.  "Oh,  I 
say,  I  should  never  get  my  tea!"  With 
out  another  word,  he  clapped  in  his  spurs, 


62  GALLOPS    I 

and  shot  out  upon  the  bridge  under  full 
steam.  A  gasp  of  horror  broke  from  the 
knot  of  men. 

"You  can't  make  it!"  shrieked  Varick. 
The  Duke  gave  a  mighty  spring,  and  was 
over,  with  something  to  spare.  There  was 
an  instant's  clatter  on  the  boards,  and  the 
stranger  was  checking  his  horse  in  the 
farther  meadow.  He  turned  and  looked 
back.  Then  he  called  out,  with  no  change 
in  the  tone  of  his  dry  voice : 

"  Any  one  coming?  " 

No  one  answered.  He  pointed  toward 
Oakdale,  and  called  again : 

"Is  that  the  village?" 

Again  there  was  no  answer,  and  he 
rode  away.  Without  speaking,  they 
watched  him  canter  across  the  meadow, 
clear  the  first  of  the  big  fences,  and  fade 
into  a  small  dark  object  in  the  twilight. 

"The  Lord  deliver  us!"  said  Varick. 
"Who  is  that  man?" 

But  no  one  was  any  wiser  than  he,  and 
there  seemed  no  disposition  to  speculate 
idly.  The  Fence- Breakers'  League  had 


THE    FENCE-BREAKERS'   LEAGUE        63 

been  "  stumped,"  and  by  a  man  they  had 
presumed  to  be  an  esthete.  The  disgrace 
was  galling,  and  the  mind  of  Galloway  was 
filled  with  particularly  bitter  reflections. 
They  started  back,  and  presently  saw  Cap 
tain  Forbes  coming  toward  them.  He  was 
making  for  the  bridge. 

"You  can't  get  over,"  said  Colfax. 

"  Unless  you  happen  to  have  a  balloon," 
added  Varick. 

When  Forbes  gathered  what  had  hap 
pened  he  laughed  as  he  had  not  laughed 
in  twenty  years ;  and  the  Fence-Breakers' 
League  listened,  glum  and  angry. 

"  Have  you  ever  heard  of  Charley  Pel- 
ham,  the  Earl  of  Reddesdale?"  he  asked. 

Now,  every  hunting-man  knows  the 
fame  of  the  hunting  Earl  of  Reddesdale, 
who  rides  with  his  wooden  leg  strapped  to 
the  saddle. 

The  Fence-Breakers'  League  kept  si 
lence.  They  were  ashamed  of  themselves. 
Finally  Galloway  spoke : 

"  What  can  we  do  about  it  ?  Give  him 
a  dinner?  " 


64  GALLOPS    I 

"  No,"  said  Varick,  glancing  at  Forbes; 
"disband." 

"  I  second  that  motion,"  said  Willie 
Colfax,  gruffly;  and  the  Fence-Breakers' 
League  then  and  there  disbanded. 


THE   RIDE   OF  HIS   LIFE 


IV 

THE    RIDE    OF    HIS    LIFE 

/^ORDILLAS  Y  SANDOVAL  was  an 
\^s  attache  of  the  Spanish  legation, 
whom  Varick  invited  to  Oakdale  to  please 
Mrs.  Varick  and,  more  especially,  her 
widowed  sister. 

"  I  believe  I  met  him  once  at  the  club 
in  Washington,"  Varick  remarked.  "  I 
thought  he  was  rather  an  ass ;  but  we  've 
plenty  of  stable-room.  Does  he  hunt?  " 

Mrs.  Innis,  the  sister-in-law,  was  afraid 
he  did, — in  a  hunting-country  men  who 
do  not  ride  are  at  a  premium, — but  was 
uncertain  about  it;  therefore  upon  his 
arrival  the  question  was  referred  to  Cor- 
dillas  himself. 

The  Spaniard  dashed  Mrs.  Innis's  hopes. 
67 


68  GALLOPS    I 

He  asserted  that  he  was  "  practised  in 
equestrianism,"  and  "worshiped  horses." 

"  Yes,  and  I  haf  yoomp,  too,"  he  added. 
Then  he  branched  off  on  the  merits  of  his 
"  fiery-eyed  steed "  in  Madrid,  which  he 
was  bound  to  believe  would  make  an  un 
paralleled  "  yoomper,"  although,  as  there 
was  no  fox-hunting  in  his  country,  its 
ability  had  never  been  called  out. 

"  I  can  see,"  said  Varick,  pleasantly 
interrupting,  "  that  you  are  the  man  for 
us.  I  shall  put  you  up  on  that  good  horse 
Thomas  Dooley."  There  was  duplicity  in 
this,  for  Varick  distrusted  the  horseman 
ship  of  all  Latin  foreigners ;  but  the  Span 
iard  suspected  it  not,  and  the  sister-in-law 
discreetly  held  her  peace. 

Thomas  Dooley,  at  the  time  when  fate 
introduced  him  to  Cordillas,  was  going  on 
seventeen,  and  he  knew  more  about  get 
ting  across  a  hunting-country  than  men 
usually  acquire  in  half  a  century.  His 
ancestry  was  not  dicussed,  but  he  had  the 
best  box-stall  in  Varick's  stable,  and  would 
be  gloriously  pensioned  when  his  time  of 
service  expired.  Ten  years  back  he 


THE   RIDE   OF   HIS   LIFE  69 

had  exchanged  the  plow  for  the  saddle,  as 
the  result  of  a  memorable  humiliation  which 
he  put  upon  the  entire  Oakdale  Hunt.  One 
dismal,  sloppy  morning  Dooley  had  ap 
peared  at  a  meet,  ridden  by  a  farmer's 
boy.  Not  long  after  the  hounds  had 
found,  twenty  angry  men  were  sitting  on 
as  many  sulky,  discouraged  horses  in  a 
deep-plowed  field  waiting  for  some  one  to 
break  the  fence  in  front  of  them.  They 
were  not  soothed  when  they  saw  Dooley 
playfully  switch  his  flowing  tail  over  five 
feet  of  new  oak  rails,  and  disappear  after  the 
pack.  Varick  had  been  one  of  these  men  ; 
and  that  same  afternoon  he  possessed 
Thomas  Dooley,  who  ever  since  had  carried 
him  with  unerring  judgment  and  ability. 
As  the  years  went  by,  Dooley  came  to  be 
known  as  Varick's  "  morning-after  "  horse, 
and  he  never  betrayed  the  confidence  this 
title  implied.  Nevertheless,  it  must  be  said 
that,  for  a  man  whose  nerves  had  not  been 
outraged,  Dooley  could  hardly  be  called  an 
agreeable  mount. 

He  was,  by  general  admission,  the  plain 
est  horse  that  ever  followed  hounds.     His 


70  GALLOPS    I 

legs  and  feet  were  coarse,  and  he  galloped 
with  as  much  spring  as  if  he  were  on  stilts. 
The  mighty  quarters  wherein  dwelt  his 
genius  for  getting  over  high  timber  were 
so  much  too  big  for  him  that  he  seemed 
to  have  got  another  horse's  hind  legs  by 
mistake.  He  had  a  mouth  no  bit  could 
conquer.  He  chose  what  he  would  jump, 
and  how,  regardless  of  his  rider.  Only 
the  certainty  that  he  would  never  fall 
made  him  venerated,  and  most  persons 
who  hunt  resent  the  imputation  that  they 
need  this  kind  of  horse.  If  a  man's  heart 
is  strong  with  sleep  and  November  air, 
there  is  little  satisfaction  in  being  carried 
over  the  country  by  a  machine. 

When  Cordillas  made  his  first  appear 
ance  on  Thomas  Dooley,  it  was  noted  that 
he  rode  with  uncommonly  long  stirrup- 
leathers, — too  long  for  hunting, — and  sat 
as  stiff  as  a  horse-guard,  bouncing  dismally 
with  Thomas's  hard  trot.  The  tails  of  his 
pink  coat  were  unsullied  by  the  loin-sweat 
of  the  chase,  and  there  was  no  mark  of 
stirrup-iron  across  the  instep  of  his  freshly 
treed  boots. 


THE   RIDE   OF   HIS   LIFE  71 

"  'E  's  quite  noo,"  remarked  the  first 
whip,  in  an  undertone. 

"With  Thomas,"  replied  the  huntsman, 
"  'e  won't  be  long  noo." 

The  hounds  found  unexpectedly,  and 
the  advice  Varick  intended  to  give  his 
guest  was  cut  short. 

"  Don't  try  to  steer  him  at  his  fences," 
he  yelled;  "it  won't  do  any  good."  The 
next  moment  the  rattle-headed  four-year- 
old  he  was  riding  took  off  in  a  bit  of 
marsh,  and  became  mixed  up  with  a  panel 
of  boards.  Varick  got  up  in  time  to  see 
Dooley  bucking  over  from  good  ground, 
his  rider  with  him,  although  well  on  toward 
his  ears. 

"I  guess  he  '11  do;  he  's  got  to,"  said 
Varick,  softly  swearing  at  his  muddied 
boots.  He  scrambled  up  into  the  saddle, 
saw  his  guest  slide  back  into  his,  and  to 
gether  they  swept  on  after  the  hounds. 

For  the  most  part,  Cordillas  managed 
to  remain  inconspicuous,  though  he  took 
a  spectacular  "  voluntary "  on  the  way 
back  to  the  kennels.  He  tried  to  "lark" 
Dooley  over  a  wayside  fence,  possibly  for 


72  GALLOPS    I 

the  benefit  of  Mrs.  Innis,  who  was  driving 
by  in  her  cart.  Dooley,  knowing  that  the 
jump  was  needless,  stopped  at  the  fence 
and  the  Spaniard  went  over  alone ;  but  his 
heart  seemed  to  be  in  the  right  place,  and 
he  got  up  again,  laughing. 

The  next  time  he  went  out,  on  a  hint 
from  Varick  he  shortened  his  leathers, 
thrust  his  feet  home  through  the  irons,  and 
really  did  very  creditably.  He  was  good- 
looking,  and  had  nice  manners;  and  Mrs. 
Innis  was  so  complimentary  that  by  the 
end  of  the  week  he  believed  himself  the 
keenest  man  in  the  field.  But  as  he  grew 
in  confidence  he  also  became  aware  of  the 
reputation  which  his  mount  enjoyed.  He 
began  to  hint  to  Varick  that  Dooley  was 
not  a  suitable  horse  for  him. 

"  If  I  only  had  my  prancer  here,"  he 
observed,  one  morning,  "  you  would  see 
yoomping."  Finally  he  told  his  host 
point-blank  that,  however  well  meant  it 
might  be,  to  give  him  such  a  tame  mount 
as  Dooley  was  no  kindness;  it  was  a  re 
flection  upon  his  equestrianism. 

Then  said   Varick,  who   was   annoyed, 


THE   RIDE   OF   HIS   LIFE  73 

"  You  may  ride  Emperor  to-morrow ;  but 
I  tell  you  plainly  that  he  may  kill  you." 
For  the  moment,  he  almost  hoped  he 
would. 

"  Fear  not,"  said  Cordillas,  and  thanked 
him  much. 

Varick  says  that  he  did  not  forget  to 
tell  William  to  have  Emperor  saddled  for 
Cordillas.  The  head  groom  refuses  to  talk 
about  it,  but  shakes  his  head.  Those  who 
know  William  hesitate  to  decide  between 
him  and  his  master,  so  the  truth  is  likely 
to  remain  hid. 

At  the  meet  next  morning,  Cordillas 
flabbergasted  the  stable-boy  who  assisted 
him  to  mount  by  slipping  a  bill  into  his 
hand. 

"  An'  'im  a  halien,"  said  the  boy,  as  he 
related  the  matter  to  William.  "  Then  'e 
pats  'is  neck,  an*  sez  'e,  '  Ain't  'e  a  good 
'un!  Gawd!  look  at  'is  fiery  heye!  This 
is  a  'oss ! '  '  W'y,  yes,'  sez  I ;  '  an'  clipped 
yesterday,  sir,  which  improves  'is  looks  un 
common.  I  might  almost  say,  sir,  one  'u'd 
scaicely  know  'im.'  Then  'e  sez,  '  Git  up, 
Hemperor!'  an'  moves  awfter  'em." 


74  GALLOPS    I 

.That  day  there  was  vouchsafed  one  of 
those  "  historic  "  runs  which  come  usually 
when  a  man's  best  horse  is  laid  up,  or  when 
he  judges  that  the  day  is  too  dry  for  scent 
and  stops  at  home.  In  the  first  covert  the 
pack  blundered  on  a  fox,  and  burst  wildly 
out  of  the  woods,  every  hound  giving 
tongue,  and  Reynard  in  full  view,  barely 
half  a  field  away. 

The  men  sat  listening  to  the  foxhounds' 
"  music,"  half-eager  bark,  half-agonized 
yelp,  with  a  fluttering  of  the  pulses  and  a 
stirring  of  primeval  instincts.  The  horses 
quivered  and  pawed,  mouthed  the  bits,  and 
tossed  white  slaver  into  the  air.  But  the 
hounds  had  to  get  their  distance;  so  the 
field  held  back,  each  man  intently  study 
ing  the  far-off  fence,  and  playing  with  the 
mouth  of  his  restless  horse.  The  excited 
Spaniard  tugged  on  the  curb,  and  his  mount 
reared  indignantly. 

"Demon!"  he  shouted.  A  snicker 
rippled  from  the  grooms  in  the  rear. 

"  Good  Lord !  "  exclaimed  Varick.  "  He 
has  n't  done  that  for  eight  years.  Give 
him  his  head,  manj" 


THE    RIDE   OF   HIS   LIFE  75 

At  that  instant  the  M.  F.  H.  waved  his 
hand,  and  the  field  charged  across  the 
meadow  for  the  boards,  over  which  the 
tail-end  hounds  were  scrambling. 

It  was  seven  miles  without  a  check  to 
Christian's  Mills,  and  the  fox  most  of  the 
time  in  view;  then  across  the  river,  horses 
and  hounds  swimming  together,  and  on 
again  at  a  heartbreaking  pace  to  Paddock's 
Gully,  where  they  killed  in  the  bottom. 
Three  horses  that  went  into  the  ravine 
were  too  pumped  to  get  out  again,  and 
stayed  there  all  night.  In  the  memory  of 
man  such  a  run,  without  slow  scent  or 
check,  had  never  been  seen.  It  became 
the  great  after-dinner  run  of  the  Oakdale 
Hunt ;  and  when  they  brag  of  their  horses, 
they  tell  how,  twice  in  the  twelve  miles, 
eleven  men  jumped  five  feet  of  stiff  timber 
without  breaking  a  rail. 

In  the  last  mile  Cordillas  followed  the 
insane  Braybrooke  over  four  strands  of 
naked  wire  that  turned  the  field  aside, 
beat  him  into  the  ravine,  and  was  first  at 
the  death.  They  came  upon  him  half 
buried  in  the  yelping,  panting  pack  which 


76  GALLOPS    I 

fought  for  the  mangled  fox  he  held  over 
his  head. 

"Beat  'em  off!"  yelled  Braybrooke. 
The  feply  was  a  torrent  of  Spanish  oaths. 
Then  the  huntsman  rode  up,  and  rescued 
Cordillas,  plastered  with  blood  and  filth, 
but  content.  He  patted  his  mount's 
dripping  neck. 

"How  magnificent  a  horse!"  he  ex 
claimed. 

"  Carried  you  extremely  well,"  said 
Braybrooke.  "  Never  saw  the  old  fellow 
do  better,  or  show  so  much  speed.  Great 
gallop,  was  n't  it?  Let  's  have  a  pull  at 
your  flask;  mine  's  dry." 

"  To  the  run,"  said  the  Spaniard,  as  he 
received  the  flask  back,  "  and  your  good 
health!"  He  clutched  the  mask  in  his 
other  hand. 

"You  rode  well,"  said  Braybrooke.  His 
respect  for  the  Latin  races  had  increased. 
"  The  blood  's  dripping  on  your  coat,"  he 
added,  as  Galloway  came  up,  but  Cordillas 
only  held  his  trophy  closer. 

THAT  night  Varick  had  a  man's  dinner. 


THE    RIDE   OF    HIS   LIFE  77 

There  were  toasts  and  healths,  and  bumpers 
to  the  five-foot  fences,  and  perdition  to  the 
man  who  invented  wire ;  bumpers  to  every 
good  horse  and  man  who  was  out  that  day  ; 
long  life  to  hounds,  and  good  luck  to  all 
hound  puppies.  But  the  Spaniard  was 
the  lion  of  the  evening,  and  toward  mid 
night  there  were  cries  of  "Speech!" 

Cordillas  rose  cautiously,  and  stood  fac 
ing  the  party,  with  a  glass  of  champagne 
in  his  tremulous  hand.  He  was  touched, 
and  his  voice  showed  it.  He  thanked  the 
company  as  a  gentleman,  as  a  Spaniard, 
and  as  a  sportsman.  He  spoke  in  praise 
of  his  hosts'  country,  their  women,  and 
their  bath-tubs.  Then  he  got  around  to 
his  prancer  in  Madrid,  and  settled  down  to 
horses.  To  an  equestrian  like  himself,  he 
said,  whose  bosom  throbbed  in  sympathy 
with  every  fiery  impulse  of  creation's 
most  noble  animal,  the  fox-chase  was  the 
sport  of  kings.  To  a  distinguished  com 
pany  of  huntsmen  he  might  well  repeat 
the  words  of  the  English  poet,  with  which 
they  might  be  familiar,  "  My  kingdom  for 
a  horse!"  Developing  his  theme,  he  as- 


78  GALLOPS    I 

serted  that,  of  the  various  kinds  of  horses, 
the  hunter  was  the  noblest.  "  And  of  all 
noble  hunters,"  he  shouted,  "the  noblest, 
the  fieriest,  the  most  intrepid,  I  haf  rode 
to-day!  I  drink  to  Emperor!" 

At  that  moment  Thomas  Dooley,  the 
newly  clipped,  was  sniffing  a  bran  mash, 
stiff  and  sore  with  the  weariness  born  of 
his  day's  exertions  under  Cordillas  y  San- 
doval.  As  every  one  at  the  table  except 
the  Spaniard  knew,  Emperor  had  not  been 
out  of  his  stall. 

There  was  a  moment's  hush.  The  toast 
was  drunk  in  silence.  The  men  looked  at 
one  another,  and  then  a  tumult  of  cheers 
burst  forth  which  set  the  grooms  waiting 
at  the  stables  to  speculating  upon  the 
probable  condition  of  their  masters.  To 
Cordillas  it  was  an  ovation,  and  the  climax 
of  his  triumph.  The  tears  stood  in  his 
eyes.  To  the  Oakdale  Hunt  it  was  the 
only  way  of  saving  appearances  and  their 
good  breeding. 

"  Keep  the  racket  going,"  said  Forbes 
to  Braybrooke.  "  Don't  let  him  know  any 
one  's  laughing." 


THE   RIDE   OF   HIS   LIFE  79 

"I  shall  die  of  this,"  gasped  Willie 
Colfax;  and  he  slipped  under  the  table, 
gurgling  hysterically. 

What  else  might  have  happened  no  one 
can  say,  because  Charley  Galloway  started 
"For  he  's  a  jolly  good  fellow!"  at  the 
top  of  his  lungs.  Mrs.  Galloway,  who  was 
sitting  up  for  him  in  her  own  house  half  a 
mile  down  the  road,  says  she  recognized 
her  husband's  barytone.  Every  other 
man  did  the  best  that  nature  permitted. 
The  Spaniard  was  reduced  to  tears,  and 
the  party  recovered  its  gravity. 

"  But  what  is  going  to  be  the  end  of 
this?"  whispered  Varick  to  Chalmers. 
"  If  he  catches  on  he  will  have  me  out, 
and  kill  me.  And  there  's  Mrs.  Innis; 
oh,  Lord !  Reggie,  you  know  everybody 
and  all  about  everything  in  Washington  ;  if 
you  love  me,  get  him  back  there." 

Then  Chalmers  sent  for  his  groom,  and 
wrote  some  telegrams;  and  the  following 
afternoon  Cordillas  came  to  Varick,  sorely 
cast  down,  and  announced  that  the  minis 
ter  had  sent  him  imperative  orders  to 
return. 


80  GALLOPS    I 

"  I  fear,"  he  said,  "  those  infamous 
Cubanos  have  caused  complications  which 
necessitate  my  presence  at  the  capital." 

Varick  said  that  he  was  awfully  sorry — 
but  saw  to  it  personally  that  he  caught  the 
evening  train.  As  it  moved  off,  the  Spaniard 
stood  on  the  step  and  wrung  his  hand. 

"  My  friend,  possessor  of  that  great 
horse  Emperor,"  he  said,  "  I  thank  you 
for  the  ride  of  my  whole  life." 

"  Please  don't  mention  it,"  said  Varick. 
"Don't  speak  of  it! 

"But,"  he  added  to  himself,  "I  am 
much  afraid  he  will." 


THE   "TRANSFIGURED  PAIR" 


THE   "TRANSFIGURED   PAIR" 


"  I    HAD   always   supposed,"   said   Mrs. 

1  Innis,  "  that  Eleanor  Colfax  would 
be  married  in  her  habit,  with  the  groom 
and  the  ushers  in  pink,  and  her  brother 
Willie  blowing  all  he  could  of  the  wed 
ding-march  on  a  coach-horn.  With  her 
figure,  she  ought  to  have  done  it." 

"  It  certainly  was  a  great  opportunity 
thrown  away,"  said  Varick.  "  A  '  hunting 
wedding '  would  have  got  at  least  two  col 
umns  in  the  newspapers,  with  portraits  of 
the  principals,  probably  life-size,surrounded 
by  free-hand  drawings  of  us  all  in  riding- 
things.  It  would  have  been  something  to 
show  our  grandchildren.  I  suggested  it 
to  Brooky,  but  he  began  to  talk  about  his 
83 


84  GALLOPS    I 

changed  life,  his  aims,  and  his  duties,  and 
finally  pitched  into  me  for  wasting  my 
genius  upon  the  stable.  He  's  the  worst 
case  I  've  known  since  my  own." 

"  Well,  you  got  over  yours,"  said  Mrs. 
Innis,  flicking  a  grain  of  rice  from  his 
sleeve. 

They  were  interrupted  by  the  footman 
coming  back  after  Braybrooke's  hand-bag. 
He  had  dropped  it  on  the  veranda  while 
protecting  his  bride  from  Willie  Colfax's 
bombardment  of  rice  and  old  shoes;  for 
this  new  brother-in-law  had  played  the 
evil  small  boy.  The  man  hurried  after 
the  carriage  with  the  bag,  and  the  excite 
ment  died  away. 

It  had  been  the  most  "  matrimonial " 
wedding,  as  Varick  put  it,  ever  seen  in 
Oakdale,  which  in  the  circumstances  was 
hardly  to  have  been  expected.  The  bride 
wore  her  mother's  wedding-dress  and  her 
grandmother's  veil.  The  bridesmaids  were 
four  school-girl  cousins,  imported  for  the 
occasion,  and  hurried  back  to  their  books 
with  scarcely  more  than  a  glimpse  of  the 
hunting-men,  who  had  said,  "  How  do  you 


THE    "TRANSFIGURED    PAIR"  85 

do?"  very  pleasantly,  and  then  talked  to 
each  other  about  their  horses.  Similarly, 
Braybrooke  had  impressed  four  juvenile 
male  relatives,  who  appeared  in  their  first 
frock-coats;  so  that  Willie  Colfax,  whom 
he  could  n't  help  asking  to  be  best  man, 
was  the  one  familiar  figure  in  the  wedding- 
party.  "  You  and  I,"  this  youth  remarked 
to  the  bishop,  after  the  ceremony,  "  were 
about  the  only  thoroughbreds  in  the 
outfit." 

"You  flatter  me,  William,"  said  the 
bishop,  with  a  twinkle  in  his  eye,  "  I 
suppose  I  may  expect  another  invitation 
for  a  tandem  ride." 

Now,  the  exact  propriety  with  which 
this  wedding  had  been  conducted  was  the 
bishop's  personal  triumph,  although,  being 
a  discreet  man  as  well  as  a  good,  he  did 
not  boast  about  it.  After  his  first  visit  to 
Oakdale,  the  year  before,  he  had  done  a 
little  earnest  missionary  work.  A  long- 
neglected  needlework  gild  came  to  life 
again,  the  parish  debt  was  paid,  and  the 
church  got  a  new  organ.  The  betrothal 
of  Miss  Colfax  and  Braybrooke  had  offered 


86  GALLOPS    I 

a  chance  for  cultivating  in  the  parish  of 
St.  Thomas  Equinus  a  more  serious  public 
spirit.  His  experienced  mind  had  taken 
due  advantage  of  it,  and  the  seed  which 
he  sowed  brought  forth  beyond  his  ex 
pectations.  To  be  sure,  as  he  admitted  to 
himself,  it  had  fallen  upon  a  virgin  soil. 

"  Jimmy,"  said  Miss  Colfax,  not  long 
after  they  were  engaged,  "  we  owe  a  lot 
to  the  poor  people  in  the  village.  I  've 
made  up  my  mind  to  carry  out  the  bishop's 
idea  for  a  boys'  club."  In  consequence, 
every  Thursday  evening  until  they  went 
back  to  town  Braybrooke  drove  her  to  the 
gild-house,  and  played  "  Geisha  "  tunes  on 
the  melodeon ;  and  the  boys  adored  her 
so  fervently  that  they  forebore  to  guy 
him.  The  gibes  of  Varick  and  Willie 
Colfax  he  met  with  pity  for  their  unre- 
generate  state.  He  was  filled  with  the 
idea  of  improving  himself  into  a  great  and 
good  man,  worthy  in  a  measure  of  Her, 
while  it  seemed  to  her  that  the  bishop  had 
opened  her  eyes  to  a  beautiful  and  en 
tirely  new  world  of  womanliness.  They 
began  to  read  the  first  volume  of  Gibbon 


THE   "TRANSFIGURED    PAIR"  87 

together,  and  became  known  to  the  Oak- 
dale  Hunt  as  the  "Transfigured  Pair." 

But  her  great  plan  was  the  wedding- 
trip.  They  were  to  go  around  the  world, 
skimming  the  cream  of  culture  in  the 
temples  and  galleries  of  Europe,  and  read 
ing  the  history  of  foreign  peoples  on  the 
spot ;  and  were  to  come  back  highly  edu 
cated,  and  devoted  to  a  new  order  of 
things,  in  which  a  fortnight's  hunting  at 
Oakdale  was  to  be  merely  an  autumnal 
incident.  And  so  it  was  that,  radiant  with 
love  and  a  satisfying  confidence  in  the 
future,  they  had  boarded  the  day  express, 
with  their  trunks  neatly  placarded  by 
Varick  and  Willie  Colfax : 

Property  of  Circumterrestrial  Pilgrims  of  Moral 
and  Educational  Research.    Handle  Gently. 

"Well,"  she  said,  as  the  train  began  to 
move,  "  it  's  begun."  She  settled  herself 
with  a  sigh  of  content,  and  gazed  out  of 
the  window.  "  It  will  be  a  whole  year  be 
fore  we  see  the  river  again.  Jimmy,  I  am 
so  happy ! "  Braybrooke  patted  her  hand. 

"  Look,"  she  said  ;  "  there  's  the  steeple- 


88  GALLOPS    I 

chase  course,  and  the  brushed  hurdle 
where  Mrs.  Hawkins  refused." 

He  put  his  face  to  the  window  beside 
hers.  In  a  moment  the  glimpse  of  the 
hurdle  was  gone,  but  the  memories  of  that 
race-day  almost  a  year  before  lingered  in 
their  minds.  They  glanced  at  each  other ; 
it  was  not  necessary  to  speak.  Presently 
the  train  swept  around  a  bold  curve,  and 
Braybrooke  crossed  to  the  other  side  of 
the  state-room  and  drew  the  curtains.  He 
motioned  toward  the  window  across  the 
narrow  passage.  "  There  's  the  pasture 
lot,  and  the  horses,"  he  said. 

Turned  out  that  very  morning  was  her 
mare  Queenston,  and  her  second  horse,  the 
chestnut  gelding  with  the  white  stockings, 
and  the  cobs  she  drove  to  her  buckboard, 
and  his  hunters,  Mrs.  Hawkins  and  the  rest, 
cropping  the  fresh  grass  which  the  recent 
rains  had  brought.  As  the  train  passed 
they  lifted  their  heads  and  trotted  in  a 
troop  toward  the  fence. 

"  Are  n't  they  dears?  "  she  whispered. 

"  And  look,"  he  said ;  "  do  you  see  the 
field  beyond  Morgan's  woods?  That  's 


THE    "TRANSFIGURED    PAIR"  89 

where  we  killed  last  November,  and  I  got 
the  brush  I  gave  you." 

"  It  's  in  my  trunk,"  she  said. 

Morgan's  woods  faded  out  in  the  dis 
tance,  and  the  country  became  new  and 
strange.  "  Good-by,  Oakdale,"  she  mur 
mured.  Braybrooke  smiled  weakly,  and 
tried  to  say  something,  but  only  gulped. 

They  had  hit  upon  the  highly  original 
idea  of  stopping  off  for  a  few  days  at  a 
place  so  near  Oakdale  that  it  would  never 
occur  to  any  one  to  suspect  their  where 
abouts.  Therefore,  when  they  were 
greeted  by  a  beaming  hackman  as  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Braybrooke,  and  handed  into  an 
aged  barouche  trimmed  with  white  stream 
ers,  they  were  amazed  and  indignant.  Of 
course  they  learned  afterward  that  Willie 
Colfax  had  bribed  the  Oakdale  station- 
agent  to  betray  the  place  to  which  he  had 
checked  their  luggage ;  but  for  the  time 
being  they  could  only  wonder,  and  make 
the  best  of  the  embarrassing  interest  which 
every  one  about  the  hotel  took  in  them. 

There  was  a  lake  at  this  place,  and  a 
moon  to  shine  upon  it  by  night ;  and  they 


9o  GALLOPS    I 

passed  three  agreeable  days  discovering 
that  never  before  could  two  young  persons 
have  been  so  fortunately  married.  On  the 
fourth  day  Eleanor  wrote  to  her  aunt,  Mrs. 
Alden  Adams :  "  Both  of  us  well  and  per 
fectly  happy.  We  leave  this  afternoon." 
They  posted  this  at  the  station,  and  set 
out  upon  their  travels. 

"  I  am  so  glad,"  she  remarked,  "  that 
we  have  really  started.  We  've  got  so 
much  to  do,  and  so  much  to  see,  and  so 
far  to  go.  It  is  going  to  be  a  wonderful 
trip.  And  it  will  be  so  nice  to  settle  down 
at  once  to  the  kind  of  life  we  are  always 
going  to  lead  together — finding  out  all 
the  greatest  ideas  that  people  have  had, 
and  trying  to  think  them  and  live  them 
ourselves." 

She  expressed  these  admirable  senti 
ments  with  a  certain  note  of  defiance  in 
her  tone,  as  if  she  expected  to  be  contra 
dicted.  Braybrooke  glanced  at  her  in 
quiringly. 

"  We  shall  have  about  five  days  of  this 
sleeping-car  before  we  get  to  Vancouver," 
he  observed.  "  It 's  terribly  stuffy."  He 


THE   "TRANSFIGURED    PAIR"  91 

fanned  himself  impatiently  with  a  news 
paper. 

"  And  then,"  she  went  on,  "  we  shall 
have  three  days  before  the  ship  sails, 
sha'n't  we  ?  We  want  to  see  Spokane  and 
Seattle,  of  course,  and  run  over  to  Vic 
toria;  and  then — Japan  and  China!  Is  n't 
it  splendid?" 

"  Yes,  splendid,"  he  said ;  "  by  the  way, 
we  must  try  to  be  decent  to  my  uncle 
when  we  get  to  China.  It  will  be  a  bore, 
of  course.  He  's  got  his  yacht  there,  and 
he  's  running  some  drag-hounds  around 
Shanghai.  He  '11  want  us  to  go  about 
with  him  a  lot.  Of  course  we  '11  be  seeing 
'temples,  and  buying  bronzes  and  things ; 
but  I  do  think  he  '11  feel  hurt  if  we  don't 
show  him  some  attention.  We  might  go 
out  with  the  hounds  just  once,  don't  you 
think?" 

"  I  don't  see  any  harm  in  that,"  she 
assented. 

"  I  forgot  to  tell  you,"  he  went  on, 
"  that  I  got  a  letter  from  him  before  we 
left  Oakdale.  Kingston,  the  horse  he  sent 
out  to  breed  to  native  mares,  is  dead." 


92  GALLOPS    I 

"What  a  pity!"  said  the  girl.  "  Poor 
old  Kingston !  He  was  Queenston's  sire." 
She  sighed.  "  Jimmy,  was  Kingston  by 
Canadian  Prince  or  Imported  Autocrat? 
Willie  and  I  had  a  bet  about  it,  and  I  've 
always  meant  to  look  it  up." 

Braybrooke  thought  a  moment. 

"  I  forget,"  he  said.  He  made  a  move 
ment  toward  his  hand-bag,  checked  him 
self,  and  colored. 

"What  's  the  matter?"  she  demanded. 

"Nothing,  dear,  nothing;  I  was  only 
trying  to  remember." 

"Don't  bother,"  she  said;  "of  course 
it  's  of  no  importance.  Suppose  we  read 
some  Gibbon;  we  are  awfully  behind." 

He  fished  the  third  volume  out  of  his 
bag,  found  the  place,  and  began  to  read 
aloud  about  Alaric  and  the  sack  of  Rome. 

Braybrooke  read  in  a  solemn,  unpunc- 
tuated  voice,  and  dealt  with  proper  names 
and  difficult  words  according  to  his  first 
impressions.  The  results  were  sometimes 
curious,  but  she  never  corrected  him. 
When  he  reached  the  account  of  the  pil 
lage  of  the  splendid  palaces  she  interrupted 


THE   "TRANSFIGURED    PAIR"  93 

him :  "  We  shall  see  some  of  those  ruins 
when  we  get  to  Rome,  sha'n't  we?  It  's 
very  interesting;  but  the  car  shakes  so,  I 
am  afraid  you  ought  to  stop ;  you  '11  ruin 
your  eyes." 

He  shut  the  book. 

"I  wonder,"  he  observed,  "if  anybody 
ever  read  Gibbon  on  his  wedding-trip  be 
fore?" 

She  laughed. 

"  I  don't  care.  It  's  very  improving ; 
and,  really,  we  must  keep  up,  and  do  all 
the  things  we  are  going  to  do." 

"  Who  said  anything  about  not  doing 
them?"  he  demanded. 

"  Why,  no  one,  of  course,"  she  answered, 
and  was  silent.  "  Jimmy,"  she  asked, 
after  a  long  pause,  "  when  do  we  get  to 
Greece?  " 

"  February  or  March,  I  think." 

"  Well,  it  has  just  occurred  to  me  that 
Mr.  Fairfield,  the  architect,  is  going  to 
send  us  a  book  all  about  the  Parthenon. 
He  says  it  's  the  most  wonderful  building 
in  the  world,  although  it 's  mostly  tumbled 
down." 


94  GALLOPS    I 

"  Yes ;  I  've  heard  him  speak  about  it," 
said  Braybrooke.  "  When  he  was  up  at 
Oakdale,  two  years  ago,  he  and  Captain 
Forbes  got  talking  about  the  horses  on  the 
frieze.  Forbes  says  they  must  have  been 
the  greatest  weight-carriers  for  their  inches 
that  the  world  has  ever  seen.  Why,  they 
only  stood  at  most  fourteen-one,  and  those 
fellows  in  the  heavy  cavalry,  with  their 
gear,  averaged  one  hundred  and  ninety, 
anyway." 

"  They  must  have  been  a  strain  of 
Arab,"  she  remarked.  "  It  's  always 
interested  me  to  think  how  they  bred  up 
our  big  thoroughbred  from  such  little 
stock.  And  it  was  n't  very  long  ago, 
either.  When  was  the  Godolphin  Arab 
brought  to  England?" 

"  I  don't  believe  I  remember,"  he  an 
swered;  "but — "  He  started  toward  the 
hand-bag  again,  and  stopped  shamefacedly. 

"Jimmy,"  she  asked  sharply,  "what  's 
in  that  bag?  Get  it!" 

He  opened  the  satchel,  and  handed  her 
a  volume.  It  was  a  part  of  the  Stud-book. 
She  looked  at  him  seriously. 


THE   "TRANSFIGURED    PAIR"  95 

"  I  did  n't  know,  you  see,"  he  said 
apologetically ;  "  I  thought  we  might  need 
it,  so  I  put  it  in  along  with  the  Gibbon. 
It  makes  the  bag  pretty  heavy." 

She  turned  her  face  to  the  window,  and 
for  a  long  time  they  sat  in  silence. 

"Railway  traveling  is  fearfully  dull," 
he  said  at  length.  "  Can't  keep  clean ; 
can't  exercise.  I  'm  glad  it  's  only  five 
days  to  the  coast." 

She  made  no  comment. 

"  Do  you  feel  all  right,  dear?  "  he  asked 
anxiously.  "You  're  not  ill?" 

"  I  'm  very  well,"  she  answered,  with 
out  looking  at  him.  There  was  another 
long  pause. 

"  How  would  some  lunch  go?  "  he  sug 
gested  timidly.  "  I  'm  nearly  starved." 

She  shook  her  head. 

"  I  'm  not  hungry  a  bit,"  she  said 
gently;  "but  you  get  something." 

He  opened  the  basket,  and  tried  some 
olives  and  a  cold  woodcock ;  but  his  ap 
petite  had  vanished  and  he  shut  the  hamper 
again.  She  seemed  not  to  want  to  talk, 
and  he  fell  to  watching  her  as  she  gazed 


96  GALLOPS    I 

out  of  the  car  window.  He  had  never 
seen  her  so  quiet  and  subdued  before. 
There  was  a  sad,  absorbed  look  in  her  face. 
It  made  her  very  beautiful,  but  it  troubled 
him. 

Was  it  usual  for  brides  to  act  in  this 
way  on  their  wedding- trip?  he  asked  him 
self.  Did  n't  she  love  him,  after  all  ?  Was 
she  beginning  to  feel  that  she  had  made 
a  mistake?  He  wanted  to  speak  to  her, 
and  have  the  matter  explained,  but  he  was 
afraid ;  so  he  sat,  miserable  and  full  of 
fears,  watching  now  her,  now  the  passing 
landscape,  until  the  fields  and  woods  began 
to  weave  themselves  into  a  sort  of  day 
dream,  and  he  almost  forgot  that  he  was 
on  his  wedding-trip,  bound  for  the  ends 
of  the  earth. 

The  autumn  afternoon  wore  away,  and 
still  they  rode  on  in  silence.  Once  she 
said :  "  Is  n't  it  beautiful  ?  There  's  no 
State  so  beautiful  as  New  York.  It  will 
be  a  year  before  we  see  it  again." 

Toward  dusk  they  entered  a  valley  that 
suggested  the  Oakdale  country.  It  was  a 
region  of  good  rail  fences,  with  here  and 


THE   "TRANSFIGURED    PAIR"  97 

there  a  line  of  boards,  and  scarcely  a 
strand  of  wire.  There  were  broad  bot 
tom-lands,  and  beyond  these  a  sky-line  of 
gently  rolling  heights.  From  time  to  time 
a  patch  of  blue  on  the  flats  showed  where 
the  river  curved.  The  soft  stretches  of 
stubble-field,  the  reds  and  yellows  of  the 
woods  on  the  distant  hills,  the  long,  dim 
shadows  of  the  elms  in  the  pasture  lots, 
the  sunshine  fading  into  twilight — it  was 
all  like  the  end  of  an  October  hunting-day. 
He  could  almost  hear  the  far-away  outcry 
of  the  hounds ;  he  almost  expected  to  see 
them  break  from  the  next  piece  of  woods. 
The  clicking  of  the  wheels  began  to  run 
into  the  rhythm  of  a  galloping  horse  and  he 
imagined  himself  rating  along  on  Mrs. 
Hawkins.  He  scanned  the  country  as 
the  next  covert  came  into  view,  and  was 
wondering  what  direction  the  fox  would 
probably  take,  when  he  heard  Her  sigh. 
He  glanced  up  apprehensively,  and 
watched  her.  Then  he  almost  laughed 
outright.  She  too  was  studying  the  fences, 
following  them  with  her  eyes  till  they 
passed  out  of  view.  A  wave  of  great 

7 


98  GALLOPS    I 

gladness  swept  over  him.  He  knew  now 
where  her  thoughts  were.  A  great  many 
plans  came  into  his  brain,  and  suddenly 
he  reached  a  mighty  determination.  He 
watched  her  intently,  chuckling  to  himself 
over  the  idea  which  had  taken  possession 
of  him.  All  at  once  he  heard  her  murmur, 
unaware  that  he  could  hear: 

"  That  would  be  my  place — the  top  rail 
would  break." 

"  I  suppose  she  's  galloping  her  mare," 
he  thought,  and  chuckled  again.  "  Yes, 
dear,"  he  said  softly ;  "  only  Queenston 
would  n't  hit  it." 

She  started,  and  colored  guiltily. 
"You  've  been  listening!"  she  exclaimed, 
and  the  tears  stood  in  her  eyes.  "  I  don't 
love  you  as  I  ought,"  she  said.  "  I  thought  I 
had  put  all  those  things  away.  But  I  Ve 
been  thinking  about  Queenston  and  Oak- 
dale,  and  the  run  they  '11  have  to-morrow. 
I  Ve  got  to  tell  you."  She  began  to  cry, 
and  her  head  sank  upon  his  shoulder. 

"  There,  there !  "  he  said  gently.  "  I  Ve 
got  something  to  tell  you,  too.  We  're  going 
back  to  Oakdale,  and  we  are  going  to-night. 


THE   "TRANSFIGURED    PAIR"  99 

The  weeping  stopped.  "  Oh,  Jimmy!" 
she  gasped.  "  But  we  can't!" 

"  There  are  all  kinds  of  people  in  the 
world,"  he  went  on,  "  and  I  guess  we  had 
better  be  our  own  kind.  I  fell  in  love  with 
you  when  you  were  jumping  the  red  gate 
out  of  the  Four  Oaks  pasture,  and  it  was 
a  steeplechase  that  helped  me  out  with 
you.  Now,  there  '11  be  plenty  of  chanty, 
and  all  that,  at  Oakdale,  and  we  can  read 
books  and  things  evenings.  But  this 
globe-trotting  is  n't  our  distance.  Be 
sides,  I  am  afraid  I  shall  never  make  a 
good  rater  at  culture;  and,  after  all,  it 
really  is  something  to  know  a  good  horse. 
Nell,  Oakdale  is  the  place  for  us." 

"But  all  we  've  planned  out!"  she 
sobbed. 

"  Let  's  own  up  we  've  drawn  blank," 
he  said.  "  Now,  see  here.  The  horses 
were  only  turned  out  four  days  ago,  and 
they  '11  be  fit  to  go  to-morrow.  A  wire 
to-night  will  bring  'em  up,  and  we  will  be 
there  in  time  to  ride.  What  do  you  say 
about  it?" 

She  smiled  through  her  tears. 


ioo  GALLOPS    I 

"  I  was  thinking  of  that,  too,"  she  said. 

"  It  's  the  Deep  Gully  woods,  and  they 
will  be  sure  to  find." 

Then  Braybrooke  sent  for  the  con 
ductor,  and  wrote  a  telegram  three  pages 
long.  The  conductor  told  him  that  the 
next  stop  was  a  very  good  place  to  dine, 
and  that  they  could  catch  the  up-train  to 
Oakdale  there  at  nine-forty. 

"Then,"  said  Braybrooke,  "  we  get  out 
of  this  in  exactly  half  an  hour." 

His  wife's  maid  was  of  the  discreet 
order  and  raised  no  question,  even  with 
her  eyes,  when  he  asked  her  to  get  the 
hand-luggage  ready  as  quickly  as  she 
could.  Braybrooke  was  grateful  for  this. 
It  is  not  pleasant  to  have  even  your  wife's 
maid  laugh  in  her  sleeve  when  you  start 
around  the  world  and  change  your  mind 
before  you  get  three  hundred  miles.  His 
spirits  rose,  and  he  was  quite  as  perfectly 
happy  as  the  bridegrooms  of  story-books 
when  he  led  her  down  the  car  as  the  train 
drew  into  the  station.  He  heard  some 
very  nice-looking  people  observe  that  the 
town  they  had  come  to  was  a  funny  place 


THE   "TRANSFIGURED   PAIR"          101 

for  a  honeymoon,  but  he  did  not  even 
blush.  On  the  platform  his  face  became 
grave.  He  turned  to  her. 

"It  's  just  occurred  to  me,"  he  said; 
"  they  will  guy  us  the  worst  way  at  the 
meet  to-morrow.  Do  you  want  to  change 
your  mind?  " 

She  pressed  his  hand,  and  with  a  happy 
look  shook  her  head. 

"  But  of  course  you  will  let  me  follow 
you  ?  "  she  asked.  "  You  won't  be  always 
telling  me  to  keep  back?  " 

He  paused  irresolutely  on  the  step. 
He  had  not  thought  of  that,  and  it  meant 
a  great  deal  —  no  more  five-foot  "larking," 
no  more  chancing  it  over  wire.  It  meant 
a  lifetime  of  sober,  decorous  jumping. 
Then  he  looked  at  her. 

"  What  I  jump,  you  shall  too,"  he  said ; 
and  stepped  down  to  offer  her  his  hand. 


THE    POPULARITY    OF   TOMPKINS 


VI 

THE    POPULARITY    OF    TOMPKINS 

MY  dearest  Mother,"  wrote  Mr.  Fred 
erick  Tompkins,  when  he  had  been 
at  Oakdale  a  week  :  "  The  Varicks  are  aw 
fully  kind.  They  have  a  very  good  house, 
which  Mrs.  Innis  —  who  is  Mrs.  Varick's 
sister,  you  know — seems  to  have  a  good 
deal  to  say  about.  I  suppose  this  accounts 
for  my  being  made  welcome,  although  I 
am  only  her  guest,  and  did  not  know  any 
one  else  in  the  family.  This  is  the  great 
est  place  I  ever  struck.  I  wish  the  gov 
ernor  would  get  a  house  here.  I  could 
run  it,  and  get  some  of  the  men  in  our 
class  to  come  up  and  stop  with  me,  now 
that  we  are  through  college.  You  could 


106  GALLOPS    I 

come  up  for  the  steeplechases,  and  give  a 
hunt  ball.      How  does  the  idea  hit  you  ? 

"  Our  Western  hospitality  is  n't  a 
marker  on  what  they  do  for  one  here.  I 
have  been  dined  and  lunched  and  furnished 
with  horses  in  a  way  that  is  really  won 
derful,  considering  that  I  am  a  stranger. 
There  is  nothing  much  in  the  way  of  girls, 
but  there  is  the  smoothest  lot  of  men  I 
ever  met.  Mrs.  Innis  introduced  me  to 
the  best  of  them,  and  I  suppose  they  have 
showed  me  attention  on  her  account. 
Monday  morning,  after  I  got  here,  there 
was  a  hunt, —  not  shooting,  you  know, — 
and  Mr.  Varick  let  me  ride  a  horse  called 
Sir  Roger.  He  says  that  as  perfect  a  type 
of  hunter  as  this  one  is  dirt-cheap  at  fifteen 
hundred,  and  I  can  well  believe  it.  I 
just  let  him  go,  and  was  right  in  it  from 
the  start.  Of  course  I  had  never  hunted 
before  —  only  after  jack-rabbits  at  home, 
where  there  is  no  jumping;  but  Mrs.  Innis 
told  me  it  was  n't  necessary  to  tell  any  one 
this,  and  that  I  would  soon  get  the  trick. 
She  said  just  to  let  the  horse  alone  and 
he  'd  do  the  rest,  and  he  did.  It  was  the 


THE    POPULARITY   OF   TOMPKINS      107 

greatest  sensation  I  ever  had  in  my  whole 
life.  Varick  said  that  I  had  ridden  uncom 
monly  well,  and  that  the  horse  was  just 
suited  to  me.  Of  course  I  have  always 
ridden  out  home  with  a  curb  and  a  loose 
rein,  so  I  did  n't  bother  his  head,  and  let 
him  pick  his  own  jumping.  Mrs.  Innis 
said  this  was  the  best  way  to  do  with  a 
well-schooled  horse,  unless  you  were  a 
crack  and  had  really  good  hands.  She 
says  that  most  men  get  falls  because  they 
think  they  know  how  to  '  lift '  their  horses 
and  '  foot '  them  at  their  fences.  It  is 
wonderful  how  much  she  has  picked  up 
about  all  this  sort  of  thing,  because  she 
does  n't  ride,  and  never  talks  horse  the 
way  some  of  the  other  women  do.  She 
also  suggested  that  I  should  take  whatever 
was  said  about  hunting  as  a  matter  of 
course,  which  was  clearly  good  advice. 
Mrs.  Innis  is  a  very  charming  woman. 
Monday  she  introduced  me  to  a  man  named 
Galloway,  and  he  asked  me  to  come  over 
to  lunch  on  Tuesday  and  look  at  his  string. 
He  also  offered  me  a  mount  for  Wednes 
day.  Varick  told  me  I  had  better  take  it, 


io8  GALLOPS    I 

as  Sir  Roger  was  pretty  tired  and  had  cut 
his  frog.  He  was  foolish  once,  and  jumped 
on  a  pile  of  stones. 

"  Wednesday,  on  Galloway's  mare 
Vixen,  I  had  an  immense  ride.  She  got 
away  from  me  once  and  jumped  three 
strands  of  barbed  wire,  and  I  beat  the 
whole  field.  Everybody  is  talking  about 
it,  and  I  am  getting  the  reputation  of 
being  a  hard  goer.  Galloway  said  that 
the  price  of  that  horse  ought  to  go  up 
five  hundred  after  such  a  performance, 
but  he  's  going  to  keep  it  at  a  thousand. 
•If  you  hear  of  anybody  in  Washington 
who  is  looking  for  a  regular  clipper,  tell 
him  about  Vixen ;  I  should  like  to  do  Gal 
loway  a  good  turn. 

"  There  is  a  fellow  up  here  called  Willie 
Colfax,  whose  cousin  was  in  college  with 
me.  He  has  been  very  civil,  and  came 
over  and  got  me  Thursday  morning,  and 
took  me  for  a  ride  'cross  country  on  a 
horse  called  Lorelei.  They  have  a  very 
good  way  here  of  sometimes  bandaging  a 
horse's  legs  to  protect  them  from  the 
thistles.  Colfax  had  bandages  on  Lorelei. 


THE   POPULARITY   OF   TOMPKINS      109 

He  said  she  is  very  thin-skinned  on  ac 
count  of  her  breeding.  It  is  a  humane 
custom,  don't  you  think?  Lorelei  jumped 
like  a  bird.  She  is  the  greatest  bargain  I 
have  seen  yet,  and  I  almost  wish  I  was 
buying  horses.  Colfax  will  let  her  go  for 
five  hundred;  at  least,  I  inferred  so  from 
some  remarks  he  let  drop.  If  Sis  wants  a 
good  hack  that  can  jump,  the  governor 
ought  to  consider  this  mare.  Colfax  was 
very  flattering,  and  said  he  had  never  seen 
Lorelei  go  so  well,  and  that  it  needed  a 
hard  goer  to  do  her  justice.  You  ought 
to  be  proud  of  your  son!  To-day  (Fri 
day)  I  lunched  at  the  club  with  Captain 
Forbes,  and  looked  over  his  string  after 
ward.  He  has  three  very  likely  horses 
that  he  is  willing  to  let  go,  as  he  has  more 
than  he  needs.  He  is  going  to  mount  me 
to-morrow.  There  are  a  number  of  men 
here  who  have  more  horses  than  they 
need,  and  are  willing  to  sell.  They  have 
been  very  kind  in  offering  me  mounts.  I 
suppose  they  are  glad  to  have  them  exer 
cised.  By  the  way,  several  people  have 
spoken  about  the  governor's  starting  fox- 


Iio  GALLOPS    I 

hunting  out  on  the  coast  He  'd  look 
queer  riding  to  hounds,  but  it  is  a  very 
captivating  idea.  Sound  him  about  it. 

"  I  have  wired  your  New  York  florist 
to  send  four  dozen  American  Beauties  to 
Mrs.  Varick,  and  the  same  to  Mrs.  Innis. 
I  mention  this  lest  I  should  forget  to  speak 
about  it,  and  you  should  think  the  bill 
wrong.  This  is  a  very  long  letter,  and 
makes  up  for  some  short  ones.  Love  to 
Father  and  Sis. 

"  Your  aff.  son, 

"  FREDERICK  TOMPKINS." 

When  Mrs.  Innis's  friends  asked  her  how 
it  was  that  she  had  annexed  this  scion  of 
the  West,  she  replied  that  she  was  laying 
up  treasure  with  the  mammon  of  the  Occi 
dent,  and,  moreover,  that  he  was  a  very 
nice  boy  and  admired  her.  She  dis 
covered  him  in  Washington,  where  Sena 
tor  Tompkins  had  established  his  family 
for  the  winter.  Now,  young  Tompkins 
was  a  nice  boy,  and  some  day  would  be 
rich,  and  there  were  several  mamas  in 
Washington  who  considered  Mrs.  Innis's 
interest  in  him  not  less  than  shameful. 


THE   POPULARITY   OF  TOMPKINS     ill 

TOMPKINS  sent  his  letter  off  to  the  post, 
and  presented  himself  in  the  drawing-room 
to  take  tea  with  Mrs.  Innis.  He  found 
Captain  Forbes  there. 

"  Hello ! "  said  Forbes.  "  I  was  hacking 
over  this  way,  and  dropped  in  to  see 
whether  you  were  going  to  ride  Rajah  to 
morrow.  I  understood  you  to  say  you 
would ;  but  Varick  said  something  about 
mounting  you  on  a  four-year-old  of  his." 

"Well,"  said  Tompkins,  "I  had  n't 
heard  anything  about  the  four-year-old. 
Of  course,  as  I  'm  stopping  here,  I  ought 
to  ride  Varick's  horse  for  him  if  he  wants 
me  to;  but  I  should  like  very  much  to 
have  a  go  with  the  Rajah." 

"All  right,"  said  Forbes;  "I  '11  see 
Varick.  Where  is  he?" 

"  In  the  smoking-room,  I  think,"  said 
Mrs.  Innis. 

The  captain  found  Varick  in  a  very  bad 
temper,  making  up  his  stable  accounts. 

"Look  here,"  said  he;  "it  's  low  down 
of  you,  Varick,  to  keep  this  Tompkins  chap 
all  to  yourself.  He  's  a  mighty  attractive 
little  chap,  and  he  has  a  good  eye  for  a 
horse,  and  I  want  him  to  ride  some  good 


H2  GALLOPS    I 

ones,  so  I  've  offered  him  the  Rajah.  He 
says  you  have  n't  spoken  to  him  yet  about 
mounting  him  on  that  skate  four-year-old, 
and  he  wants  to  ride  the  Rajah,  but  he  's 
afraid  of  offending  you." 

"  Oh,  hang  him!"  exclaimed  Varick; 
"  let  him  ride  anything  you  say.  This 
desperate  altruism  on  your  part,  however, 
is  something  new.  Get  out  of  here, 
Forbes;  I  've  been  swindled  on  my  hay." 

Forbes  went  back,  and  told  Tompkins 
it  was  all  right  about  Rajah,  and  then 
rode  away. 

"  Mrs.  Innis,"  said  Tompkins,  after  the 
captain  had  departed,  "  I  've  been  having 
a  great  time  this  week.  There  is  the  best 
crowd  of  men  here  I  ever  saw.  That 
fellow  Forbes  is  a  brick.  There  are  n't 
many  men  who  would  lend  their  hunters 
to  a  stranger  the  way  he  's  done." 

"That  's  so,"  said  Mrs.  Innis,  with  a 
smile ;  "  but  then,  Frederick,  you  are  a 
very  nice  young  man."  He  had  asked 
her  to  call  him  Frederick. 

"Oh,  pshaw!"  said  Tompkins,  and 
colored.  "  They  're  civil  to  me  because 


THE    POPULARITY   OF   TOMPKINS      113 

I  am  your  friend,  that  's  all;  they  adore 
you." 

"  I  wish  I  could  believe  that,"  said  Mrs. 
Innis ;  "  but  I  am  sure  it  is  n't  so.  I  had 
Cordillas  up  here,  and  they  were  really 
horrid  to  him.  But  I  don't  suppose  I 
ought  to  speak  about  that  story,  since 
you  are  going  back  to  Washington." 

Tompkins  would  have  liked  to  hear  that 
story,  but  he  did  n't  say  so;  he  held  it 
unmasculine  to  be  curious. 

"  By  the  way,"  asked  Mrs.  Innis,  "  have 
they  said  anything  to  you  about  starting 
a  hunt  out  on  the  Pacific?  " 

"Why,  yes,"  said  Tompkins;  "two  or 
three  of  them  have  spoken  about  it.  I 
think  it  would  be  a  great  thing,  but  I  'm 
afraid  the  governor  would  n't  vote  for  it. 
You  see,  it  might  hurt  him  politically." 

"  Did  you  tell  any  one  that?  "  she  asked. 

"No,"  said  Tompkins;  "I  did  n't  say 
much  about  it.  I  thought  I  would  sound 
the  old  gentleman  first.  It  might  carry, 
after  all." 

"  That 's  so,"  said  Mrs.  Innis.  Tompkins 
stooped  to  pick  up  her  handkerchief,  and 


H4  GALLOPS    I 

she  smiled  in  a  quiet  little  way  that  seemed 
quite  for  her  own  edification.  The  man 
who  thought  that  he  knew  Mrs.  Innis  best 
called  that  smile  her  " glad-i-at-or  smile," 
because  it  expressed  what  the  cat  said  after 
she  had  eaten  the  canary.  When  he  ob 
served  that  smile  he  was  always  uneasy 
till  he  was  quite  sure  that  the  victim  was 
some  other  man. 

The  next  morning  Tompkins  hunted 
Rajah,  and  had  the  time  of  his  life.  The 
Rajah  was  an  old  steeplechaser  with  no 
particular  mouth,  and  he  rushed  his  jumps 
in  a  way  that  made  mature  persons  who 
rode  him  wish  to  be  at  home  in  bed. 
Tompkins  let  him  go,  and  the  Hunt  held 
back  and  gave  him  room.  There  is  a 
saying  that  it  takes  seven  croppers  to 
make  a  horseman.  Tompkins  had  n't  had 
his  first  one  yet,  and  so  there  was  no  use 
in  giving  him  advice. 

"  Confound  that  fellow  Tompkins ! "  said 
the  M.  F.  H.  "  He  's  been  riding  over  my 
hounds  all  the  morning.  Forbes,  tell  him, 
if  he  can't  keep  that  blooming  runaway  of 
yours  back,  to  go  home." 


THE   POPULARITY   OF   TOMPKINS      115 

Forbes  cast  an  injured  look  at  the  M.  F. 
H.,  and  counseled  Tompkins  to  modera 
tion.  But  when  the  hounds  found,  they 
went  off  at  a  very  fast  clip,  and  then 
Tompkins  was  in  his  glory.  He  led  the 
field  for  seven  miles,  turning  neither  to 
right  nor  to  left,  and  he  was  with  the 
pack  at  the  kill  before  even  the  huntsman. 
When  the  M.  F.  H.  presented  him  with  the 
brush  it  seemed  that  all  -the  joy  of  the 
world  was  in  his  cup.  He  resolved  that 
the  governor  certainly  should  take  a  place 
at  Oakdale,  and  that  he  would  hunt  for 
ever  after.  It  was  only  natural,  therefore, 
that  an  unmanly  lump  should  rise  into  his 
throat  when  he  read  the  telegram  which 
was  waiting  for  him  when  he  got  back  to 
the  Varicks'  that  afternoon.  It  said : 

Letter  received.  You  come  home  on  first 
train.  FATHER. 

THAT  night,  after  dinner,  Varick  went  to 
the  club,  and  found  a  group  of  men  play 
ing  pool. 

"  Hello ! "  said  Forbes.     "  While  I  think 


ii6  GALLOPS    I 

of  it,  tell  Tompkins — will  you  ? — that  I  'm 
afraid  the  Rajah  won't  be  fit  to  go  on 
Monday.  The  fact  is  (of  course  you  need 
n't  say  anything  about  it),  his  old  tendon 
is  as  big  as  my  wrist.  The  horse  went 
marvelously.  Really,  though,  that  boy  is 
a  shocking  pounder." 

"  I  should  say  he  was!"  exclaimed  Gal 
loway.  "  Vixen  threw  a  curb  with  him, 
and  he  rode  so  much  out  of  Lorelei,  just 
galloping  her  'cross  lots,  that  Willie  has 
had  to  fire  her  again  and  turn  her  out." 

"  Really  ?  "  said  Varick.  "  Well,  he  used 
up  Sir  Roger,  too — jumped  him  on  a  pile 
of  stones  and  cut  his  frog.  But,  I  say, 
Forbes,"  he  added,  "  Tompkins  has  gone  ; 
so  it  won't  matter  about  the  Rajah  on 
Monday." 

"  Gone?  "  repeated  Forbes.  The  other 
men  regarded  Varick  incredulously. 

"  Yes  ;  Washington  on  the  eight-thirty." 

"Well,"  said  Forbes,  "he  's  coming 
back,  is  n't  he?  " 

"  Not  that  I  know  of,"  said  Varick. 

"  I  guess  he  is,  though/'  said  Forbes. 
"  The  fact  is,  you  see,  I  was  told,  rather  in 


THE   POPULARITY   OF   TOMPKINS      117 

confidence,  that  he  came  up  here  to  buy  a 
string  of  hunters  for  his  father.  I  under 
stand  that  the  old  gentleman  is  going  to 
run  a  pack  of  drag-hounds  somewhere  out 
West" 

Colfax,  Galloway,  and  Varick  looked 
curiously  at  Forbes,  and  then  at  one 
another. 

"  I  got  the  same  '  steer/  "  blurted  out 
Galloway;  then  Willie  Colfax  nodded, 
signifying  that  it  had  likewise  been  im 
parted  to  him. 

"  That 's  very  funny,"  said  Varick ;  "  for 
I  heard  something  of  the  same  sort  myself. 
Forbes,  do  you  mind  saying  whether 
Tompkins  himself  told  you  that?" 

"  No,"  said  Forbes ;  "  Tompkins  did  n't." 

"  Then  who  was  it?  "  demanded  Varick. 

"  I  don't  know  that  I  ought  to  tell,"  he 
answered  ;  "  though  I  don't  suppose  there  's 
any  harm  in  it.-  You  see,  I  was  n't  actu 
ally  told  that  Tompkins  was  going  to  buy, 
but  it  was  put  to  me  in  such  a  way  that  I 
got  that  impression.  I  was  asked  as  a  per 
sonal  favor  not  to  sell  him  anything  that 
was  n't  the  best — well — by  Mrs.  Innis." 


n8  GALLOPS    I 

Varick  gave  forth  a  long,  low  whistle, 
and  in  the  silence  that  followed  Galloway 
and  Colfax  moved  thoughtfully  toward 
different  parts  of  the  wall,  and  each 
pressed  an  electric  button. 

"  I  am  afraid,"  said  Varick,  slowly, 
"  that  we  have  been  '  up  against  it.'  Ever 
since  that  Spanish  chap  rode  old  Thomas 
Dooley,  and  thought  he  was  up  on  Em 
peror,  my  sister-in-law  has  been  '  laying 
low  '  with  Brother  Rabbit.  She  won't  be 
lieve  that  we  lament  the  mistake." 

When  Forbes  mentioned  Mrs.  Innis,  the 
M.  F.  H.,  who  had  been  practising  billiard 
shots  at  the  next  table  till  his  turn  should 
come  around,  threw  down  his  cue,  and 
appeared  to  be  choked  by  his  emotions. 
A  great  light  had  struck  him. 

"This  is  almost  too  much!"  he  sighed. 
"  Coming  home  this  afternoon,  for  three 
miles  Tompkins  talked  to  me  about  the 
whole-souled  generosity  of  the  men  of  this 
Hunt — men  who  seemed  to  find  delight  in 
pursuing  him  with  attentions  and  offers  of 
horses.  '  Why,  Mr.  Crawford,'  said  he,  '  I 
never  saw  such  a  place !  I  believe  I  could 


THE   POPULARITY   OF   TOMPKINS      119 

stay  here  a  month,  and  be  mounted  three 
times  a  week ! ' ' 

Just  then  the  sound  of  women's  voices 
rose  in  the  hall.  A  party  had  come  in  for 
supper. 

"Hello!"  said  the  M.  F.  H.,  listening; 
"  Mrs.  Innis  is  out  there  now.  This  is  too 
good  to  keep;  I  've  got  to  tell  her."  He 
went  to  the  door.  It  was  a  family  sort  of 
club,  and  ladies  often  went  into  the  bil 
liard-room. 

"  Don't  you  want  to  come  in  here  and 
exult?"  he  said.  "I  'm  not  equal  to  the 
whole  thing  myself;  and  besides,  it 's  your 
party." 

Mrs.  Innis  turned,  and  hesitated.  "What's 
that?"  she  asked. 

"  Why,  you  have  caused  the  heathen  to 
rage,"  exclaimed  the  M.  F.  H.,  "  and  they 
are  making  themselves  very  amusing 
about  some  horses  they  did  n't  sell." 

"Exult?"  she  replied.  "Horses  they 
did  n't  sell  f  What  on  earth  are  you  talk 
ing  about? " 

The  M.  F.  H.  took  a  long  breath,  like 
a  man  who  gets  a  bucket  of  cold  water 


120  GALLOPS    I 

thrown  on  him.  Then  he  became  matter- 
of-fact  and  mirthless.  He  knew  Mrs.  Innis 
pretty  well. 

"Oh,  nothing  much,"  he  said;  "just 
any  old  thing.  By  the  way,  next  week  I 
expect  to  have  two  chaps  stopping  with 
me,  who  are  coming  on  to  look  about  for 
hunters;  and  I  shall  be  awfully  busy  just 
then,  because  Mrs.  Crawford  is  going  to 
have  a  lot  of  girls  at  the  house.  Can't 
you  help  me  show  'em  about  a  bit?" 

Mrs.  Innis  looked  at  the  M.  F.  H.  as 
though  she  were  wondering  whether  she 
could  conscientiously  comply. 

"  Why,  yes,"  she  answered ;  "  I  shall  be 
glad  to  help  you  in  any  way  I  can." 

"  Well,  they  won't  be  much  trouble," 
the  M.  F.  H.  added.  "  Men  who  are  buy 
ing  horses  always  seem  to  be  popular 
up  here.  If  you  've  never  noticed  it,  I  '11 
make  you  a  present  of  the  idea." 

"You  are  very  good,"  replied  Mrs. 
Innis.  "  It  is  certainly  a  very  ingenious 
idea.  But  you  are  always  having  inge 
nious  ideas  ;  you  have  an  ingenious  mind." 

The  M.  F.  H.  bowed. 


THE    POPULARITY   OF   TOMPKINS      121 

"  Yes.  The  idea  's  ingenious  enough ; 
only  there  's  the  very  deuce  to  pay  if  they 
don't  buy,  after  all.  Now  take  the  case 
of  your  friend  Tompkins.  It  's  rather 
serious.  There  are  three  or  four  chaps  in 
here  who  are  talking  of  having  him  ar 
rested  for  fraud — " 

"Why,  Mr.  Crawford!"  exclaimed  Mrs. 
Innis,  incredulously ;  "  you  don't  tell  me 
that  any  one  thought  Mr.  Tompkins  came 
here  to  buy  horses?  He  came  here  to 
see  me.  Of  course,  before  he  arrived,  I 
thought  it  possible  that  he  might  want  to 
pick  up  a  hunter  or  so,  and  I  asked  the 
men  I  knew  not  to  sell  him  anything  that 
was  n't  the  best.  But,  dear  me !  the  day 
he  arrived  he  told  me  that  his  father  had 
forbidden  his  buying  horses  of  any  kind, 
and  so  I  never  bothered  about  the  matter 
again;  it  quite  went  out  of  my  head." 
Then  she  looked  at  the  M.  F.  H.  with  the 
faintest  gleam  in  her  eyes.  "  Please  take 
this  thing,"  she  added. 

He  took  her  wrap  and  put  it  on  a  chair. 
"  Why,  of  course,"  he  said ;  "  nothing  could 
be  more  natural." 


122  GALLOPS    I 

They  could  hear  all  this  from  the  bil 
liard-room. 

"  Crawford,"  called  Varick,  "  are  you 
going  to  play  pool,  or  do  you  wish  me  to 
telephone  for  Mrs.  Crawford?" 

"  Coming  at  once,"  replied  the  M.  F.  H. 

"  Varick,"  growled  Galloway,  who  was 
thinking  of  Vixen's  curb,  "  let  's  drop  Mr. 
Tompkins  and  his  popularity.  It  's  your 
shot — hurry  up  and  play ! " 


CHALMERS'S  GOLD  PIECE 


VII 

CHALMERS'S   GOLD    PIECE 

THERE  goes  a  good  chap,"  said  the 
M.  F.  H.,  nodding  toward  Chalmers. 
The  hunting  Earl  turned  in  the  saddle, 
and  looked.  He  was  jogging  alongside 
of  the  M.  F.  H.,  who  was  taking  him  into 
covert  with  the  hounds.  (This  was  only 
the  proper  courtesy  to  extend  to  so  great 
a  fox-hunter.)  "  He  's  back  this  morning 
from  the  Rockies,"  the  M.  F.  H.  added ; 
"  I  'd  like  to  have  you  know  him." 

"Beg  pardon,"  observed  the  Earl,  "but 
is  n't  he  rather  queerly  turned  out?" 

The  M.  F.  H.,  who  was  sounding  his 
horn,  laughed,  and  spoiled  his  note. 

"  Those  are  pretty  awful  riding-things. 
They  belong  to  his  groom." 
125 


126  GALLOPS    I 

"  Not  very  well  off — bankrupt  or  some 
thing?"  suggested  the  Earl. 

"  Thunder,  no!"  exclaimed  the  M.  F.  H. 
"  He  's  a  terrible  millionaire.  You  see,  he 
got  back  a  day  sooner  than  he  expected, 
and  they  had  n't  brought  his  things  down 
from  town.  He  did  n't  have  time  to  bor 
row  any  breeches,  and  he  was  n't  going  to 
miss  a  run,  so  he  put  on  the  cords  belong 
ing  to  his  man's  new  livery,  and  an  old 
jacket.  They  are  all  running  him  about 
it,  for  he  's  usually  rather  smart.  I  dare 
say  you  've  seen  his  yacht,  the  Indepen 
dence  Day,  at  Cannes.  He  prowls  all  over 
the  place  after  big  game,  and  he  's  one  of 
the  best  men  in  America  to  hounds." 

"  Very  interesting  indeed,"  said  the 
Earl.  "  I  should  like  to  meet  him." 

The  M.  F.  H.  looked  back  and  tried  to 
catch  Chalmers's  eye;  but  Chalmers  was 
watching  a  young  woman  coming  over  a 
big  panel  of  rails  in  a  slashing  way  one 
does  n't  often  see.  It  impressed  him,  and 
he  rode  over  to  Varick,  who  was  dis 
mounted  tightening  his  girths,  and  asked 
him  who  the  strange  girl  was. 


CHALMERS'S  GOLD   PIECE  127 

"  Did  n't  notice  her,"  said  Varick ;  "  but 
there  are  several  new  ones  here  just  now. 
There  's  a  professional  from  some  Lon 
don  riding-school,  looking  about  for  high 
jumpers.  Colfax  is  trying  to  sell  her 
Lorelei  at  a  low  price  and  no  guaranty. 
Then  there  's  a  Miss  Crackenthorpe,  a 
Philadelphia  girl,  stopping  with  the  Gallo 
ways;  and — "  He  stopped  abruptly,  and 
listened.  Somebody  was  calling  in  the 
distance.  It  was  indistinct  at  first;  but 
then  the  breeze  swelled  lazily  and  brought 
a  faint  "  Gone  away !  Gone  away !  "  from 
the  whip  on  the  farther  side  of  the  covert. 
A  moment  later  the  pack  picked  up  the 
hot  scent,  and  set  up  a  terrific  yeow- 
yeowing. 

"  Hullo,  they  are  off! "  Varick  exclaimed, 
and,  mounting  hastily,  he  galloped  after 
the  troop  of  excited  men  and  horses. 

AN  hour  later — they  had  lost  that  fox, 
and  were  after  a  second  one — Chalmers 
emerged  from  a  big  wood-lot,  and  looked 
about  him  for  signs  of  the  Hunt.  There 
was  no  one  in  sight.  It  is  not  pleasant  to 


128  GALLOPS    I 

find  one's  self  a  minority  of  one  on  the 
question  of  inferring  a  fox's  ultimate  line 
from  his  circlings  in  the  impracticable 
underbrush — unless,  of  course,  one  hap 
pens  to  be  right,  and  has  hounds,  fox,  and 
everything  to  himself,  in  which  case  he 
has  an  exclusive  smoking-room  story  for 
ever  after.  But  Chalmers  had  neither 
quarry  nor  pack. 

"  Why,  oh,  why,"  he  murmured  plain 
tively,  "do  I  never  hit  it  right?"  He 
strained  his  ears  for  the  sound  of  the 
hounds;  but  there  was  only  the  rustle  of 
the  stray  leaves  that  bobbed  across  the 
stubble  on  the  wind.  The  region  was 
unfamiliar  and,  in  the  desolate  stillness  of 
a  November  afternoon,  unprepossessing. 

"  That  wretched  fox  certainly  has 
doubled  back,"  he  said  to  himself.  "  I  'm 
out  of  it,  and  I  'm  afraid  I  'm  lost,  to 
boot."  He  felt  hungry,  and  inspected  a 
lone  and  crumpled  sandwich ;  but  he 
reflected  that  he  would  doubtless  be  hun 
grier  later  on,  so  he  put  it  away.  He  was 
searching  the  dull  horizon  for  the  sun, 
from  which  to  get  his  bearings,  when  he 


CHALMERS'S   GOLD    PIECE  129 

was  startled  by  the  crash  of  breaking 
rails. 

He  glanced  around,  and  saw  a  woman 
coming  a  most  appalling  cropper  over  the 
fence  between  him  and  the  wood-lot.  The 
horse  scrambled  to  its  feet,  trailing  its 
rider  head  down,  and  broke  into  a  gallop. 
The  skirt  of  her  habit  was  hooked  over  one 
of  the  pommels.  It  all  happened  as  swiftly 
and  inevitably  as  things  happen  in  a  bad 
dream.  It  sickened  him,  but  the  instant 
the  horse  started  he  had  started  after  it. 
There  was  no  time  to  follow  the  runaway 
and  pull  him  up,  for  at  any  moment  the 
woman  might  swing  under  his  hoofs,  or  be 
dashed  against  a  stone. 

It  came  to  Chalmers  that  the  thing 
to  do  was  to  "  cross."  This  was  an 
experience  which  he  had  several  times 
unintentionally  provoked  at  polo.  After 
his  first  thorough  collision  he  came  to 
before  the  match  was  over,  and  a  famous 
No.  2,  who  was  looking  on,  bent  over 
his  stretcher.  "  Next  time  when  you 
see  there  has  got  to  be  a  smash,"  he 
said,  "  don't  let  the  other  fellow  hit  you 


130  GALLOPS    I 

behind  the  saddle.  It 's  just  as  well  to  let 
him  have  the  spill."  This  means  that  a 
pony  run  down  forward  of  the  girths  is  not 
so  likely  to  be  thrown  off  his  hind  legs, 
and  has  a  chance  of  collecting  himself 
before  he  goes  completely  over.  Chal 
mers  .remembered  this.  He  had  only 
fifty  yards  to  ride,  and  he  calculated  his 
pace  correctly.  The  bewildered  horse 
which  he  was  attempting  to  head  off 
made  no  attempt  to  swerve,  and  they  met 
fairly  at  right  angles.  Chalmers  was  con 
scious  of  a  stunning  shock  and  of  being  in 
a  heap  with  two  horses.  He  wondered 
where  the  woman  was.  As  he  got  up 
he  saw  that  she  had  been  thrown  clear 
and  was  lying  motionless.  A  drop  of 
blood  was  gathering  from  a  scratch  on  her 
cheek.  He  noticed  it  hang  an  instant,  and 
then  trail  down  across  her  face,  He  was 
sure  that  she  was  dead.  There  was  a 
numb  feeling  in  his  left  shoulder,  and 
mechanically  he  changed  the  bridle  to  his 
right  hand.  For  a  moment  he  stood 
dazed  and  silent.  The  woman's  horse 
picked  itself  up  and  went  off,  and  Chal- 


CHALMERS'S   GOLD    PIECE  131 

mers  still  stood,  wondering  exactly  what 
had  happened.  Then  the  woman  sat  up, 
and  his  senses  came  to  him. 

"Are  you  much  hurt?"  he  gasped. 
His  knees  felt  weak,  and  he  leaned  against 
his  horse. 

"  No,"  said  the  girl ;  "  I  think  I  'm  only 
shaken  up." 

Chalmers  watched  her  anxiously.  It 
was  the  girl  he  had  noticed  taking  the 
fence  before  the  run  began.  "  Yes ;  it  's 
the  riding-mistress,"  he  said  to  himself. 
It  had  just  occurred  to  him  that  he  had 
once  met  the  Philadelphia  girl  whom 
Varick  had  mentioned,  and  that  she  was 
quite  a  different  person.  Besides,  this  girl 
spoke  with  a  markedly  English  intonation. 
She  began  to  turn  her  head  first  one  way 
and  then  the  other,  as  if  she  were  making 
sure  it  was  really  there. 

"  I  'm  afraid  you  've  hurt  your  neck," 
he  said.  "  Have  you  any  pain — down 
your  back?  " 

"  No,"  she  answered  weakly;  "but  I 
can't  get  all  those  hoofs  out  of  my  eyes. 
It  seems  as  if  they  were  coming  down 


132  GALLOPS    I 

smash!  They  're  worse  than  I  ever  had 
before." 

Chalmers  had  experienced  the  hoof 
phenomenon  himself,  and  he  knew  that  it 
made  the  first  moments  after  a  bad  cropper 
extremely  bewildering. 

"  Lie   down   a   minute,"  he   suggested. 

She  collapsed  miserably  into  a  heap,  and 
began  to  cry  softly.  Chalmers  turned  his 
head  away,  and  wondered  what  he  ought 
to  do.  For  a  man  of  his  age  he  had  been 
confronted  with  some  exceptionally  trying 
situations,  but  with  nothing  upon  this 
order.  Besides,  this  was  inwardly  dis 
tressing.  It  would  have  been  easier  if 
she  had  sniffled  and  "  taken  on  "  hysteri 
cally  ;  but  she  wept  in  the  subdued  manner 
of  utter  wretchedness.  It  was  very  pa 
thetic. 

"  You  poor  little  thing! "  Chalmers  mur 
mured.  That  she  was  not  little,  but  rather 
tall,  with  a  classic  type  of  face  and  a  won 
derful  skin,  back  into  which  the  pink  was 
beginning  to  find  its  way,  did  not  abate 
the  strain  upon  his  feelings.  He  let  his 
eyes  rest  on  her  for  a  moment. 


CHALMERS'S   GOLD   PIECE  133 

"  It  's  inhuman  to  make  a  woman  like 
that  ride  for  her  living,"  he  muttered. 
"  It  's  devilish!"  His  ideas  about  women 
in  the  hunting-field  underwent  a  rapid 
revision,  as  is  apt  to  be  the  case  with  men 
who  have  just  seen  their  first  bad  side 
saddle  spill.  "  And  it  's  only  a  question 
of  time  before  she  '11  be  killed.  By  Jove, 
she  simply  must  n't!"  Now  Chalmers 
meant  this  to  be  positive  and  final,  for 
at  that  moment  an  idea  struck  him,  which 
he  hastily  elaborated. 

It  was  a  simple  solution  of  the  matter. 
Chalmers  had  a  sister  whose  fad  was  her 
hackney  farm  and  her  harness-horses. 
She  drove  four,  and  tandem,  and  all  other 
possible  ways ;  but  she  thought  poorly  of 
riding.  She  needed  a  confidential  assis 
tant  (she  had  told  Chalmers  that),  but  a 
difficulty  had  confronted  her  in  the  pre 
vailing  sex  of  horse  experts.  This  fixed 
it.  He  would  wire  Elizabeth ;  Elizabeth 
would  wire  Miss  What's-her-name  (he 
would  find  that  out  when  he  was  properly 
presented)  to  New  York,  and  the  message 
would  be  repeated  to  Oakdale,  as  if  Eliza- 


134  GALLOPS    I 

beth  did  n't  know  she  was  there.  Then, 
by  an  odd  coincidence,  Miss  Chalmers 
would  turn  out  to  be  his  sister,  and  the 
girl's  risks  of  sudden  death  thenceforth 
would  be  limited  to  smashed  vehicles  and 
that  class  of  accidents  from  which  she 
would  have  almost  the  same  chance  of 
escape  as  a  man.  Presently  the  girl 
stopped  crying,  and  Chalmers  left  off  the 
works  of  his  imagination  with  a  smile.  It 
was  diverting  to  arrange  matters  for  a 
person  whom  one  did  n't  know.  She 
lifted  her  head. 

"Will  you  give  me  your  flask?"  she 
asked.  "  I  'm  still  a  bit  faint." 

All  Chalmers's  things  were  on  their  way 
from  town,  and  he  had  n't  a  flask  with  him. 

"  I  'm  very  sorry,"  he  began  awkwardly. 

She  sat  up,  and  looked  him  over  from 
head  to  toe  with  a  swift  glance. 

"  I  beg  your  pardon,"  she  interrupted. 
"  I  did  n't  think.  I  shall  be  quite  well 
directly."  She  rose  to  her  feet,  leaving 
Chalmers  somewhat  mystified. 

"  Does  your  head  trouble  you?"  he 
asked. 


CHALMERS'S   GOLD    PIECE  135 

"No,"  she  answered;  "  I  really  feel 
much  better.  But  will  you  kindly  explain 
to  me  how  you  came  to  be  here?  I 
thought  I  was  jumping  into  an  empty 
meadow." 

Chalmers  briefly  explained  that  he  had 
lost  the  hounds,  and  happened  to  be 
standing  at  one  side  when  she  fell,  and 
afterward  stopped  the  horse.  The  girl 
thought  a  moment. 

"  But  your  horse  was  down  on  his 
knees?"  she  said  inquiringly.  "I  re 
member  that." 

"  Well,"  answered  Chalmers,  "  there  was 
a  bit  of  a  collision." 

"  I  think  I  understand,"  she  answered. 
"  That  was  a  very  brave  thing  to  do!" 
Her  eyes  turned  from  his  face,  and  Chal 
mers  was  somehow  impressed  for  a  mo 
ment  that  he  was  clad  in  ill-fitting  cord 
breeches.  Then  she  repeated  impulsively, 
"  A  very  brave  thing  to  do !  "  He  felt  the 
red  coming  into  his  face. 

"Nonsense!"  he  exclaimed.  "The 
question  is,  How  are  we  going  to  get 
home?"  He  looked  after  the  runaway 


136  GALLOPS    I 

horse.  It  was  already  in  the  field  beyond. 
They  watched  it  take  the  fence  and  disap 
pear  over  the  brow  of  a  hill. 

"  Well,  he  *s  gone,"  said  Chalmers.  He 
glanced  at  his  own  horse  with  the  man's 
saddle,  and  then  at  the  girl.  Their  eyes 
met,  and  he  fancied  by  the  corners  of  her 
mouth  that  she  understood  the  situation. 

"  When  I  was  a  child,"  she  said  gravely, 
"  I  used  to  ride  straddle  always.  I  think 
we  can  manage  it  if  you  will  shorten  the 
stirrups." 

As  he  stretched  out  his  left  hand  the 
ache  in  his  shoulder  became  a  sharp  twinge, 
and  the  hand  dropped. 

"  What 's  wrong?  "  she  asked  anxiously. 
"  Is  your  arm  broken?  " 

"No,"  said  Chalmers;  "if  it  's  any 
thing,  I  guess  it  's  only  the  collar-bone. 
It  did  n't  hurt,  and  I  hardly  realized  it 
was  cracked.  No  consequence,  anyhow." 

"  It  is  of  a  great  deal  of  consequence," 
she  answered.  "I  am  very,  very  sorry! 
Let  me  make  a  sling."  She  unbuckled 
the  curb-rein,  and  triced  the  arm  up  with 
the  skill  of  experience  as  well  as  the 


CHALMERS'S   GOLD   PIECE  137 

woman's  instinct  for  doing  such  things 
rightly. 

"  Grateful  and  comforting,"  he  said  to 
himself;  "should  be  on  every  breakfast- 
table."  Then  he  blushed  at  his  own  joke, 
and  helped  her  up.  Thus  they  set  off  in 
search  of  the  turnpike,  Chalmers  leading 
the  horse,  and  the  lady  riding  astride. 
They  got  over  a  low  fence,  and  through  a 
gate  across  another  field,  and  then  they 
went  into  a  piece  of  woods.  From  the 
other  side  of  the  woods  a  farm-house  was 
visible,  and  presently,  by  winding  through 
lanes  and  farm-yards,  and  by  opening 
innumerable  gates,  they  came  out  upon 
the  highway. 

"  Well,  this  has  been  quite  an  adven 
ture,"  said  Chalmers.  "  I  feel  as  if  I  were 
an  '  Idyl  of  the  King.'  Those  chaps  used 
to  go  grailing  and  things  with  solitary 
maidens,  did  n't  they?" 

"  Where  did  you  hear  about  the  '  Idyls 
of  the  King  '  ?  "  she  demanded. 

"Hear  about  them?"  he  said,  some 
what  taken  aback.  "  Why,  I  guess  I 
must  have  read  them." 


138  GALLOPS    I 

"  It  is  true,  then,"  she  said,  half  to  her 
self,  and  as  if  she  were  making  a  note  of 
it.  "  Every  one  reads  books  in  America. 
I  like  that  about  America  very  much. 
I  'm  in  favor  of  popular  education.  You 
see,  I  'm  a  great  radical,  and  all  that  sort 
of  thing." 

"That  's  good,"  said  Chalmers.  It 
struck  him  that  she  was  the  right  sort  to 
get  on  with  the  people  on  Elizabeth's  farm. 

"  Have  you  been  long  in  America?  "  he 
asked. 

"  About  a  month,"  she  replied. 

"What  do  you  think  of  it?"  He  felt 
uncomfortable  at  sinking  to  this,  but  he 
wished  to  know  what  she  did  think. 

"  It  's  very  big,"  she  said,  "  and  very 
different — oh,  quite  different !  The  people 
are  very  odd,  and  the  customs  are  strange. 
Have  you  ever  been  in  New  York?" 

He  said,  "Yes,"  and  chuckled. 

"  Every  one  travels  in  America,  I  've 
been  told.  In  England  they  usually  stop 
about  the  place  where  they  were  born. 
They  rarely  travel  far,  unless  they  go  out 
to  the  colonies,  you  know." 


CHALMERS'S   GOLD    PIECE  139 

"  But  you  have  been  in  London?"  he 
asked,  with  a  straight  face. 

She  smiled.  "  Of  course ;  I  am  very 
much  in  London,"  she  replied.  Then  she 
asked,  "  Do  you  live  here  all  the  year?" 

"  So  she  's  going  to  quiz  me"  he  thought. 
"Well,  turn  about  is  fair  play.  No,"  he 
answered  aloud ;  "  I  am  pretty  much  all 
the  time  in  New  York  and  other  places." 
As  he  usually  spent  the  winter  poking  his 
yacht  into  out-of-the-way  parts  of  the 
earth,  he  thought  that  this  was  specific 
enough. 

"Really?"  said  she.  "And  I  suppose 
that  most  of  the  gentlemen  who  hunt  here 
live  in  town — I  mean  in  New  York.  Mr. 
Varick  has  a  town  house  there,  I  believe." 

Chalmers  said  that  he  had.  He  won 
dered,  though,  why  she  seemed  to  asso 
ciate  him  with  Varick.  He  wondered  if 
she  took  him  for  Varick's  brother-in-law, 
Freddy  Blake,  who  was  stopping  with 
Varick.  He  had  been  taken  for  him 
before. 

The  conversation  languished,  and  for  a 
long  time  they  proceeded  at  the  slow, 


140  GALLOPS    I 

measured  pace  of  the  walking  horse.  It 
began  to  grow  dark.  Presently  they  came 
to  a  farm-house  which  he  recognized. 
He  knew  that  it  was  only  three  miles 
from  the  kennels,  so  he  felt  encouraged. 
As  they  were  passing  the  orchard  a  few 
old  thaws  dangled  in  the  bare  boughs 
which  overhung  the  road.  In  the  dusk 
they  were  scarcely  discernible. 

"Are  those  black  spots  apples?"  she 
asked  suddenly.  "  I  've  had  no  tea  at  all, 
and  I  'm  famished." 

"  You  poor  child ! "  he  thought.  "  I  'm 
afraid  they  're  frozen,"  he  said.  He  hesi 
tated.  "  I  have  a  sandwich  in  my  pocket, 
only  it  's  a  good  deal  mussed." 

The  girl  seemed  embarrassed. 

"No,  really!"  she  exclaimed;  "but  I 
can't  think  of  taking  it.  It  's  your  last 
one,  you  know." 

"  But  you  must,"  he  insisted.  "  It  's 
lucky  I  happen  to  have  it.  At  the  last 
check  your  friend  Mr.  Varick  divided  his 
lunch  with  me."  He  handed  her  the  small 
silver  box.  "  He  gave  me  the  box,  too,  years 
ago.  I  've  known  him  since  he  was  a  boy." 


CHALMERS'S   GOLD    PIECE  141 

"  Oh,  indeed!"  she  said.  "  How  very 
nice!  Really,  you  are  very  good!"  She 
examined  the  contents  of  the  box  rather 
gingerly,  but  proceeded  to  eat  them. 

"This  is  very  good  bacon,"  she  re 
marked  as  she  munched;  "and  they  usu 
ally  have  such  nasty  bacon  in  America." 

Chalmers  laughed.  "  I  shall  have  to 
warn  Elizabeth  to  make  an  effort  in  the 
matter  of  bacon,"  he  thought. 

They  trudged  along  for  a  while,  till  sud 
denly  the  road  curved  and  showed  them 
the  lights  of  the  club-house  glimmering 
half  a  mile  ahead,  and  the  village  beyond. 

"  Where  shall  I  take  you  ?  "  he  asked. 

"  I  think,"  she  replied,  "that  I  will  go 
to  the  club.  My  uncle  will  probably  be 
there." 

"Uncle!"  Chalmers  exclaimed  in 
wardly.  "  Good  gracious !  Is  she  in  tow 
of  some  horse-dealing  relative  ?  "  It  struck 
him  that  his  arrangement  might  meet  with 
some  new  difficulties.  "  Well,"  he  thought, 
"  I  guess  we  can  fix  uncle,  too.  I  have  a 
farm  myself." 

The  big  lanterns  on  the  gate-posts  shed 


H2  GALLOPS    I 

a  cheerful  light  as  they  turned  into  the 
club  driveway. 

"  It  can't  be  much  past  six,"  he  said. 
He  noticed  that  she  was  fumbling  for  the 
invisible  watch-pocket  in  her  habit.  "  Just 
twenty  minutes  past,"  he  added,  holding 
his  watch  to  the  light.  "  We  've  made 
a  very  good  pace — seven  miles  in  two 
hours." 

"  I  hope  your  arm  has  n't  pained  you 
much,"  she  said. 

"No;  it  has  n't,"  he  replied.  They 
came  under  the  porte-cochere,  and  stopped. 

"  I  thank  you  very  much  for  all  that  you 
have  done,"  she  said.  "  I  shall  tell  my 
uncle  and  Mr.  Varick  about  it."  She 
slipped  off  with  the  support  of  his  good 
arm,  and  extended  her  hand.  The  next 
moment  Chalmers  felt  a  coin  in  his  palm. 

"  Oh,  I  say!  I  beg  pardon!"  he  gasped. 
She  paused  on  the  steps,  and  faced  him. 
He  stood  there  speechless,  with  his  arm 
outstretched  toward  her. 

"  Please  take  it,"  she  said.  "  I  know 
it  's  different  in  America,  but  you  must. 
Of  course  one  can't  pay  another  for  saving 


CHALMERS'S   GOLD    PIECE  143 

her  life ;  I  can  only  thank  you  for  that : 
but  you  have  been  to  a  great  deal  of 
trouble,  too.  English  gold  is  good  every 
where,  is  n't  it?  It  's  all  I  have  with  me. 
But  my  uncle  will  be  very  grateful  to  you. 
You  must  come  and  see  him  to-morrow. 
Please  have  your  collar-bone  carefully  set. 
Good  night." 

She  turned  and  went  into  the  club. 
The  situation  burst  on  Chalmers.  He 
slipped  the  gold  piece  into  his  pocket,  and 
started  for  the  stables.  He  stopped  before 
he  reached  them,  though.  He  was  sitting, 
doubled  over,  on  a  bench  by  the  roadway 
(it  hurt  his  collar-bone  less  if  he  laughed 
doubled  over)  when  a  voice  came  out  of 
the  darkness : 

"What  's  the  matter  there?"  It  was 
the  M.  F.  H.,  on  his  way  back  from  the 
kennels. 

"  Nothing,"  replied  Chalmers,  weakly 
• — "  nothing  that  I  can  tell  you." 

"  Oh,  is  that  you,  Chalmers?"  said  the 
M.  F.  H.  "  I  've  been  looking  all  over  for 
you.  Hurry  up  and  make  yourself  pre 
sentable.  You  're  dining  with  me  at  eight." 


I44  GALLOPS    I 

"  I  can't,"  Chalmers  answered.  "  I  've 
broken  my  collar-bone,  and  I  hate  to  feed 
in  company  with  one  hand." 

"  It  's  too  bad  about  your  bone,  but 
you  've  got  to  come.  Your  food  shall  be 
served  to  you  all  cut  up,  or  you  can  have 
six  courses  of  soup.  But  I  don't  see 
what  's  so  mighty  funny  about  a  bu'sted 
collar-bone." 

"No,"  said  Chalmers;  "and  you  won't- 
Telephone  right  off  for  the  doctor — will 
you? — or  I  shall  be  late."  He  rose  and 
went  on  toward  the  stables.  Suddenly  the 
thing  struck  him  in  a  new  light. 

"  A  sovereign,"  he  mused,  "  must  be 
quite  a  lot  of  money  for  a  riding-mistress 
to  give  as  a  tip.  I  never  thought  about 
that.  I  wonder  who  her  people  were?" 

THE  M.  F.  H.  met  Chalmers  as  he  came 
into  the  drawing-room. 

"  Hullo,"  said  he  ;  "  all  comfy?  I  want 
you  to  know  the  Earl  of  Reddesdale. 
He  's  been  here  only  a  week,  but  he  's 
disbanded  the  Fence-Breakers,  and  he  's 
brought  his  niece  with  him,  besides.  Those 


CHALMERS'S   GOLD   PIECE  145 

are  two  praiseworthy  acts.  Because  you 
have  foolishly  got  spilled  somewhere,  you 
are  going  to  take  her  in  to  dinner.  Miss 
Hamilton,"  he  added,  "  may  I  present  Mr. 
Chalmers?  " 

Miss  Hamilton  turned,  and  said  she 
would  be  much  pleased.  Then  she 
glanced  at  Chalmers,  and  her  eyes 
dropped. 

"I  think,"  she  said,  "that  I  have  had 
that  pleasure — this  afternoon.  Mr.  Chal 
mers  brought  me  home."  She  touched 
the  Earl's  arm.  "  Uncle,"  she  began, 
"this  is—" 

"  This  is  very  extraordinary ! "  ejacu 
lated  the  Earl.  "  I  thought  a  groom 
brought  you  back,  my  dear — one  of  Mr. 
Varick's  men — " 

"Oh,  uncle!"  the  girl  exclaimed. 

When  it  was  quiet  enough  for  Chalmers 
to  be  heard,  he  announced  that  he  had 
something  to  say.  It  seemed  to  him  that 
the  chaffing  was  a  little  trying  for  the  girl, 
and  he  did  a  very  noble  thing.  With 
certain  reservations,  he  disclosed  his  hy 
pothesis  of  the  riding-school  mistress,  and 


146  GALLOPS    I 

drew  the  fire  upon  himself.  He  blushed 
a  deeper  red  than  Miss  Hamilton,  but  it 
was  not  so  becoming,  for  his  pink  coat 
killed  the  effect. 

"  Well,  you  see,"  he  added  ingenuously, 
"  I  got  back  only  this  morning,  and  I  never 
saw  a  woman  ride  like  that  who  was  n't 
a  professional."  Then  dinner  was  an 
nounced. 

"  It  was  very  generous  of  you  to  con 
fess  all  that,"  she  said,  when  they  were 
seated. 

"  No,"  answered  Chalmers;  "it  was 
only  fair.  My  conscience  would  have 
troubled  me  if  I  had  n't.  But  as  I  have 
no  mama  to  consult  about  receiving  pres 
ents  from  young  ladies,  I  think  I  shall 
keep  that  sovereign." 


THE    BISHOP'S    MISSIONARY 
MEETING 


VIII 

THE   BISHOP'S   MISSIONARY   MEETING 

MRS.  GALLOWAY  checked  the  horse 
to  a  walk,  and  peered  into  the  dark 
ness. 

"  I  think  this  is  our  turn,"  she  said,  "  and 
we  are  only  half  a  mile  from  home." 

"  I  must  say,  madam,"  observed  the 
bishop,  "  that  my  spirit  goes  forth  in 
thanksgiving.  We  have  really  had  a  most 
adventurous  expedition." 

For  two  hours  the  bishop  had  been 
ironing  the  loins  of  Mrs.  Galloway's  phae 
ton-horse  with  a  hot  flat-iron,  a  fatiguing 
occupation  to  which  he  was  unused.  It 
was  nearly  ten  o'clock,  and  he  had  had 
no  dinner.  He  was  weary,  and  his  soul 
craved  the  flesh-pots. 
149 


150  GALLOPS    I 

The  bishop  had  driven  forth,  in  Mrs. 
Galloway's  care,  to  inspect  the  condition 
of  the  parish  poor  with  a  view  to  organiz 
ing  a  home-missionary  movement.  His 
rector  at  Oakdale  seemed  inadequate  to 
the  task;  so  the  bishop,  according  to  his 
custom,  had  decided  to  examine  the  field 
for  himself.  At  the  cottage  of  Mrs. 
O'Rourke,  eight  miles  from  the  Gallo 
ways',  the  horse,  which  had  been  left 
unblanketed,  developed  mysterious  and 
alarming  symptoms.  His  hind  legs  ap 
peared  to  be  paralyzed.  The  bishop  led 
him  under  a  shed,  and  the  eldest  of  Mrs. 
O'Rourke's  nine,  who  was  twelve  years 
old,  diagnosed  his  trouble  as  a  chill  in  the 
kidneys. 

"  Youse  git  a  flat-iron  from  ma,  and 
iron  him  with  brown  paper  where  he  's 
scrunchin'  down.  Linyimunt  would  be 
good,  but  I  guess  the  flat  '11  fix  him  if 
youse  keep  at  it.  I  'd  do  it  meself,  only 
I  ain't  that  big." 

Cuthbert  O'Rourke  ("These  O'Rourkes 
is  all  of  thim  Or'ngemin,  and  there  's  no 
Patricks,"  said  the  widow)  superintended, 
and  carried  out  the  hot  irons.  The  bishop 


THE  BISHOP'S  MISSIONARY  MEETING  151 

ironed,  and  Mrs.  Galloway  lamented  and 
apologized.  A  smaller  O'Rourke  was 
sent  to  the  village  with  a  message  to  be 
telephoned  to  Mr.  Galloway,  instructing 
him  not  to  wait  dinner.  Mrs.  Galloway 
had  invited  a  large  company,  which  was 
to  discuss  the  bishop's  scheme  and  to 
subscribe  money  for  carrying  it  out,  so 
she  naturally  was  exasperated.  It  was  a 
quarter  before  six  when  the  flat-iron  treat 
ment  began;  and  at  about  eight  o'clock 
Cuthbert  assured  the  bishop,  who  was 
laboring  by  the  light  of  a  tin  lantern,  that 
the  beast  was  well  enough  to  travel.  They 
started  back  at  a  slow  trot,  and  what  with 
the  cold  and  the  darkness,  the  pangs  of 
hunger,  and  the  apprehension  of  a  return 
of  the  chill,  the  eight  miles  seemed  ex 
cessively  long.  When  they  turned  up  the 
cross-road  the  bishop  made  an  effort  to 
confront  the  situation  with  Christian  for 
titude,  and  became  almost  cheerful. 

" '  After  the  toils  and  perils  of  war, 
grateful  is  the  feast/  "  he  observed.  "  This 
is  a  pagan  sentiment,  but  one  rooted  in 
the  subsoil  of  our  human  natures." 

Mrs.  Galloway  was  wondering  what  sort 


152  GALLOPS    I 

of  feast  would  be  forthcoming  at  that  hour 
of  the  night,  but  she  held  her  peace. 

"  It  is  truly  noble  of  you,  Mrs.  Gallo 
way,"  the  bishop  continued,  "  to  assemble 
these  people  for  a  discussion  of  our  pro 
ject.  I  think  I  shall  be  able  to  state  the 
matter  strongly,  and  I  doubt  not  that  we 
shall  receive  generous  support.  I  have 
been  keenly  interested  in  this  parish,  as 
presenting  the  problem  of  Christianity 
versus  the  well-to-do — the  problem  how 
to  awaken  a  sense  of  higher  responsibili 
ties  in  a  community  of  amiable  barbarians. 
Do  not  misunderstand  me  :  I  use  the  word 
with  the  interpretation  and  authority  of 
Mr.  Matthew  Arnold.  And  bear  in  mind, 
madam,  I  appreciate  the  usefulness  of 
honest  sport,  and  the  physical  manliness 
it  engenders.  But  that  is  not  all  of  life ; 
and,  unfortunately,  I  have  observed  in  our 
sport-loving  rich  an  indifference,  a  color 
less  moral  attitude,  toward  the  serious 
things  of  existence,  which  is  almost  more 
difficult  to  combat  than  actual  vice.  As 
I  have  intimated,  this  parish  stands  as  a 
peculiarly  suggestive  type,  and  it  is  highly 


THE  BISHOP'S  MISSIONARY  MEETING  153 

gratifying  to  feel  that  the  small  efforts 
which  I  have  put  forth  are  slowly  but 
surely  bearing  fruit — are  slowly  but  surely 
producing  an  interest  in  spiritual  things. 
A  year  ago,  I  dare  say,  such  an  occasion 
as  this  would  hardly  have  been  contem 
plated." 

"  It  really  is  gratifying,"  said  Mrs.  Gal 
loway  ;  "  but  I  am  afraid  you  will  have  a 
very  poor  dinner.  It  must  be  nearly  ten 
o'clock." 

"Well,"  said  the  bishop,  " '  an  egg  and 
an  olive/  partaken  of  in  peace  and  with 
worthy  discourse — that  is  a  feast.  Ah, 
here  we  are!"  he  added,  with  a  sigh  of 
relief.  They  drove  under  the  porte-co 
chere,  and  stopped.  A  peal  of  uproarious 
laughter  and  a  sound  of  stamping  feet 
burst  from  the  house. 

"They  must  be  still  in  the  dining- 
room,"  said  Mrs.  Galloway.  "  Hold  the 
horse,  please,  and  I  '11  ring  the  stable  bell. 
You  could  n't  find  it  in  the  dark." 

Just  then  a  loud  voice  within  shouted : 

"  Hit  him  with  the  poker !  Oh,  harder ! 
Make  him  feel  it!" 


154  GALLOPS    I 

Mrs.  Galloway  paused  with  her  finger 
on  the  bell.  The  dining-room  windows 
were  open,  but  the  heavy  curtains  were 
drawn.  She  could  hear  what  was  said, 
but  could  not  see  what  was  going  on. 
There  was  a  sound  of  dull  whacks,  and 
the  noise  of  a  scrimmage. 

"Stop  it!  Don't,  I  say!  Stop  it! 
You  're  a  brute!"  This  was  in  women's 
voices.  Mrs.  Galloway  turned  toward  the 
bishop,  speechless. 

"  Bless  me ! "  said  the  bishop,  anxiously  ; 
"  this  is  very  strange!" 

She  tiptoed  toward  the  nearest  window, 
and  listened. 

"Well,  that  's  no  go,"  some  one  said. 
"Try  jabbing  him  with  a  fruit-knife." 

"No;  please  don't!"  cried  a  woman. 

"  Suppose  he  kicks?  "  said  a  man. 

"  If  he  's  a  gentleman,  he  won't  kick  in 
a  lady's  dining-room."  This  time  they 
recognized  Varick's  voice. 

"Suppose  he  does!"  exclaimed  some 
body  else.  "Let  him  kick!  We  can't 
keep  him  here  all  night.  Mrs.  Galloway 
and  the  bishop  are  likely  to  blow  in  any 


THE  BISHOP'S  MISSIONARY  MEETING  155 

minute.  I  want  you  to  remember  that 
this  is  a  missionary  meeting."  There  was 
another  laugh. 

"  That  was  Charley,"  whispered  Mrs. 
Galloway.  "  Do  you  suppose  they  've 
caught  a  burglar?" 

"  It  may  be,"  replied  the  bishop.  "  It 's 
very  strange." 

"  I  '11  tell  you,"  said  Varick's  voice. 
"Try  blindfolding  him.  Take  a  napkin." 
There  was  a  general  giggling  for  a  moment. 
"  Now  hit  him  gently  with  a  bottle." 

"Come  on  here!"  came  in  angry  tones 
from  Galloway.  "  You  can't  stop  here 
forever.  Get  hold,  you  chaps,  and  push." 

There  was  a  sudden  scuffle,  and  a  sound 
like  the  tramping  of  heavy  boots. 

"  Catch  the  candles ! "  awoman  screamed. 

There  was  a  deafening  crash  of  glass 
and  china,  and  a  hubbub  of  screams  and 
exclamations.  A  dead  silence  followed, 
and  then  Galloway's  voice  was  heard,  un 
naturally  calm : 

"Well,  the  dinner- table  's  gone!" 

Mrs.  Galloway  stood  petrified.  A  groom 
appeared  and  took  the  horse. 


156  GALLOPS    I 

"  What  is  going  on  in  there  ?  "  demanded 
the  bishop.  The  man  moved  into  the 
shadow. 

"  I  dunno,  sir,"  he  replied  in  a  queer 
voice.  He  got  into  the  phaeton,  and  the 
bishop  and  his  hostess  walked  softly  along 
the  veranda  toward  the  door. 

"  I  am  afraid  something  terrible  has 
happened,"  said  Mrs.  Galloway,  tremu 
lously.  "  Suppose  they  have  killed  him  ?  " 
She  drew  back,  and  the  bishop  went  in 
ahead.  They  passed  down  the  hall  to  the 
dining-room.  With  a  little  scream,  Mrs. 
Galloway  clutched  the  door-jamb. 

"  Thank  goodness !  Thank  goodness ! " 
she  murmured.  "  I  thought  it  was  a  bur 
glar.  Some  water,  please — quick!" 

But  the  bishop  gazed  fixedly  into  the 
room.  "  Some  water  for  Mrs.  Galloway ! " 
he  called  huskily. 

A  horse  with  a  napkin  knotted  about 
his  neck  was  in  the  middle  of  the  room, 
by  the  wreck  of  the  dinner-table.  Var- 
ick  was  standing  the  candelabra  on  the 
floor,  and  relighting  the  bent  candles. 
The  others  were  watching  Galloway,  the 


THE  BISHOP'S  MISSIONARY  MEETING  157 

women  with  their  skirts  wrapped  about 
them,  prepared  for  any  new  catastrophe. 
When  Mrs.  Galloway  screamed,  they 
turned  and  regarded  her  and  the  bishop. 

"  My  dear,"  said  her  husband,  "  this  is 
an  unfortunate  occurrence.  We  need  not 
discuss  it.  As  you  did  not  come  home, 
there  was  some  talk  between  Colfax  and 
myself  which  ended  in  his  betting  me 
that  I  could  n't  ride  Camelot  through  the 
house.  Now  he  's  in,  and  we  can't  get 
him  out.  He  balked  at  the  lights." 

"I  think,"  said  Mrs.  Galloway,  "you 
had  better  send  for  the  servants,  and  clean 
up  this  mess.  Then  I  want  you  to  hurry 
and  get  that  horse  out  of  the  room.  I  told 
you  the  last  time,  when  you  brought  Huron 
in  here,  that  such  things  must  stop." 

"  Oh,  you  've  been  practising  this  game, 
have  you  ?  "  interrupted  Colfax.  "  I  don't 
think  that  was  square.  I  '11  leave  it  to  the 
bishop." 

"  Only  with  Huron,"  said  Galloway, 
"and  he  's  sick.  I  've  never  had  this 
one  in." 

"  Charley    Galloway,"    said    his    wife, 


158  GALLOPS    I 

"  are  you  going  to  get  that  beast  out  of 
here  or  not?" 

"  Be  reasonable,  my  dear,"  said  Gallo 
way.  "  I  have  been  trying  for  half  an 
hour  to  get  him  out.  I  tell  you,  he  's 
balked." 

"  We  might  put  a  candle  under  him," 
suggested  Varick.  "There  is  n't  much 
left  to  smash." 

"  Put  that  candle  down ! "  said  his  sister- 
in-law,  Mrs.  Innis.  "  This  is  n't  your 
house  or  your  horse." 

"  Yes ;  do  put  it  down,"  said  his  wife. 

"  I  don't  see  what  there  is  to  be  done," 
Galloway  observed,  "  except  to  let  him 
stop  here  till  he  gets  tired.  The  rest  of  us 
might  as  well  go  into  the  smoking-room." 

"  Take  that  horse  out  of  here  at  once ! " 
said  Mrs.  Galloway. 

"  My  dear!"  protested  her  husband. 

"  At  once!"  said  Mrs.  Galloway. 

There  was  an  uneasy  silence. 

"  Mr.  Galloway,"  said  the  bishop,  with 
some  hesitation,  •"  my  brougham  horse 
sometimes  balks,  and  I  always  give  him 
sugar.  Have  you  any  sugar?" 


THE  BISHOP'S  MISSIONARY  MEETING  159 

Galloway  smiled  scornfully,  but  found 
the  coffee-tray  and  handed  him  the  sugar- 
bowl.  Galloway's  smile  said :  "  This  is  a 
harmless  fancy  which  may  divert  my  wife ; 
but  of  course  it  is  impossible  to  get  that 
horse  out  of  the  house  by  any  such  non 
sense."  Varick's  answering  smile  plainly 
implied :  "  Why,  of  course ;  preposterous, 
is  n't  it?" 

"  Now,  my  good  beast,"  said  the  bishop, 
"  here  's  some  sugar."  Camelot  took  two 
lumps  with  relish.  The  bishop  patted  his 
neck.  "A  nice  horsey — a  nice  horsey," 
he  said  soothingly.  "  Here  's  some  more. 
Come  along  now,  and  you  shall  get  the 
rest  of  the  bowlful."  He  chirruped  softly, 
and  the  horse  started.  Holding  the  bowl 
in  front  of  Camelot's  muzzle,  with  stately 
deliberation  the  bishop  led  him  through 
the  hall,  out  upon  the  veranda,  and  down 
the  steps.  The  company,  hushed  and  at 
a  respectful  distance,  followed,  and  halted 
on  the  veranda. 

"  Bishop  Cunningham,"  said  Mrs.  Gal 
loway,  "  I  am  very  much  indebted  to  you 
— very  much  indebted  indeed.  Mr.  Gal- 


160  GALLOPS    I 

loway,  will  you  be  good  enough  to  order 
us  something  to  eat,  and  send  for  a  groom 
to  take  this  horse?"  Mr.  Galloway  went 
into  the  house.  "  I  am  distressed,  on 
your  account,  that  this  should  have  hap 
pened,"  she  added  to  the  bishop;  "and, 
I  admit,  somewhat  mortified  on  my  own. 
I  cannot  help  feeling  that  you  must  draw 
the  line  yourself  against  horses  in  the 
dining-room." 

"  Please  do  not  speak  of  it,"  exclaimed 
the  bishop,  with  a  bow.  "  I  beg  of  you 
to  let  the  subject  drop." 

"You  are  so  good!"  murmured  Mrs. 
Galloway.  She  gave  a  little  choke;  her 
nerves  were  beginning  to  assert  them 
selves. 

"  What  we  all  ought  to  do,"  said  Varick, 
"  is  to  give  three  cheers  for  the  bishop, 
who  is  a  horse-tamer  and  a  brick,  and 
leave  this  ruined  home  to  its  inmates." 

"Hold  up!"  interrupted  Willie  Colfax. 
"  Cheers  are  all  right,  but  I  want  to  make 
a  speech  first."  He  turned  toward  the 
bishop.  "  You  see,  sir,  I  have  just  won 
a  hundred  from  Galloway  because  he 


THE  BISHOP'S  MISSIONARY  MEETING  161 

could  n't  get  that  horse  out.  You  have  got 
him  out,  and,  considering  the  matter  on  the 
general  principles  of  a  sweepstake,  you 
ought  to  get  the  hundred.  I  don't  sup 
pose  you  want  the  money  yourself,  so  I 
am  starting  your  missionary  subscription 
with  it,  and  as  much  more  added  to  fat  up 
the  pot.  Now,  the  rest  of  you  fellows, 
remember  you  are  at  a  missionary  meeting, 
and  do  the  right  thing."  And  they  all 
did. 


HIS    FIRST    RACE 


IX 

HIS   FIRST   RACE 

YOUNG  Hatfield  sat  up  in  bed,  and 
began  groping  for  matches  and  the 
candle.  He  struck  a  light,  and  looked  at 
his  watch.  It  was  half-past  five.  He 
drew  a  long  breath,  and  tried  to  recall 
the  nightmare  from  which  he  had  just 
escaped.  He  had  been  riding  furiously, 
over  a  vague,  gray,  boundless  country 
seamed  with  immense  jumps.  The  dream 
at  first  had  been  confused  and  misty,  but 
gradually  it  had  turned  into  a  situation 
where  he  was  alone  and  helpless,  on  the 
back  of  a  mad  runaway.  Then  as  he 
galloped  faster  and  faster  toward  an  enor 
mous  fence,  the  vision  grew  clear  and  real 
—frightfully  real.  The  horse  hit,  the  fall 
165 


166  GALLOPS    I 

came,  and  he  was  awake,  but  the  crash 
of  breaking  rails  still  jarred  in  his  ears. 
His  heart  was  thumping  with  the  dream- 
horror  that  had  come  as  his  horse's  head 
and  withers  sank  under  him.  He  was 
breathing  hard,  and  his  knees  felt  weak. 
He  had  believed  that  he  was  dead. 

To  throw  the  impression  off,  he  slipped 
out  of  bed,  and  pushed  open  the  shut 
ters.  The  pines  about  the  Oakdale  club 
house  were  sighing.  Down  the  valley  a 
southwest  wind  was  herding  successive 
ranks  of  low,  wet  clouds.  In  the  first 
glimmerings  of  dawn  the  distant  hills 
were  only  a  darker  shadow  across  the 
horizon.  The  gray  fields  in  front  of 
the  club  sloped  dimly,  and  were  lost  in 
the  mists  on  the  bottom-lands.  Hatfield 
stretched  his  arm  out,  and  opened  his 
hand  to  the  wind. 

"  They  '11  race,"  he  muttered  ;  "  there  's 
no  frost."  He  cuddled  his  hands  in  his 
pajama  sleeves,  and  shivered.  Then  he 
closed  the  window,  and  jumped  into  bed. 

Hatfield  had  left  Forbes's  dinner  about 
two  o'clock  ;  therefore  he  needed  sleep,  but 


HIS   FIRST   RACE  167 

he  knew  that  it  was  out  of  the  question. 
His  brain  was  in  that  stage  of  nervous 
alertness  which  results  from  champagne 
and  much  coffee,  followed  by  an  evening 
of  Scotch  and  soda.  His  dream  weighed 
upon  him ;  there  was  a  prophetic  vivid 
ness  about  it  which  he  could  not  put  out  of 
mind.  He  argued  that  the  horse  he  was 
going  to  ride  had  run  many  steeplechases, 
and  had  never  hurt  any  one.  Forbes  had 
told  him  that,  when  he  offered  him  the 
mount.  Then  an  inner  voice  suggested  that 
this  was  the  more  reason  for  avoiding  that 
horse.  Every  horse  will  fall  some  day. 
His  mind  brought  up  instances  of  men 
killed  in  the  hunting-field  when  mounted 
on  their  best.  He  had  known  an  English 
man  killed  in  that  way  the  winter  before. 
At  the  end  of  an  hour  he  felt  certain  that 
he  was  going  to  be  killed,  or  at  least  badly 
hurt,  and  he  tried  to  be  calm  about  it.  He 
was  not  superstitious,  but  presentiments 
nowadays  have  a  scientific  recognition,  and 
he  felt  sure  that  a  presentiment  had  come 
to  him.  He  imagined  how  he  would  look 
in  his  coffin,  and  he  wondered  whether  his 


168  GALLOPS    I 

mother  would  come  over,  or  whether  they 
would  send  him  to  her.  His  mother  lived 
in  Europe.  Then  he  fell  to  thinking  about 
the  Girl  who,  at  that  moment,  was  asleep 
at  the  Alden  Adamses',  a  mile  up  the  road. 
He  wondered  if  by  any  freak  of  thought- 
transference  his  dream  had  come  to  her. 

Suddenly  it  occurred  to  him  that  he  was 
not  obliged  to  ride.  He  might  be  taken 
ill,  and  afterward  give  up  hunting  alto 
gether.  He  was  ashamed  and  angry,  but 
he  could  not  put  the  idea  out  of  his  mind. 
It  came  back,  tempting  him  with  plausible 
excuses.  A  little  before  seven  he  got  up 
and  dressed.  Then  he  took  a  writing-case 
from  his  trunk,  and  wrote  three  short  notes. 
Two  of  these  he  sealed  with  his  ring.  One 
was  addressed  to  his  mother,  the  second  to 
the  Girl  who  was  stopping  at  the  Adamses'. 
The  third  was  open,  and  addressed  to 
Forbes.  The  possibility  that,  after  all,  he 
might  be  making  an  ass  of  himself  had 
occurred  to  him,  and  what  he  wrote  was 
bald  and  matter-of-fact.  He  hoped  against 
conviction  that  he  was  making  an  ass  of 
himself.  He  had  much  to  live  for.  He 


HIS   FIRST   RACE  169 

had  planned  things  which  it  was  hard  to 
imagine  he  was  not  going  to  fulfil.  He 
put  the  envelops  in  his  writing-case  and 
went  down-stairs  to  wait  for  breakfast. 

Hatfield  was  twenty-three,  and  was 
spoken  of  as  a  boy  who  might  amount  to 
a  good  deal  if  a  comfortable  income  and 
half  a  dozen  other  pitfalls  of  youth  did 
not  destroy  him.  Horses  were  a  new  fad. 
As  a  child  he  had  ridden  his  pony,  but 
going  'cross  country  was  a  fresh  experi 
ence.  When  the  Girl  went  to  the  Alden 
Adamses'  for  November,  Hatfield  had 
bought  a  couple  of  hunters  and  gone  down 
to  Oakdale.  He  had  been  out  four  or  five 
times  with  the  hounds,  and  the  game  had 
ensnared  him.  His  views  of  life  forthwith 
changed.  It  seemed  only  worthwhile  to  be 
come  and  to  be  known  as  a  "  hunting-man." 
He  pinned  his  stock  the  way  Braybrooke 
pinned  his  ;  he  affected  Galloway's  practice 
of  carrying  a  cutting-whip  instead  of  a 
crop ;  he  copied  Forbes's  seat — that  is, 
until  Whitney  Corlies  came  down :  after 
that  he  modeled  himself  upon  Corlies. 
He  realized  that  he  was  a  beginner,  and 


i;o  GALLOPS    I 

was  discreet  in  his  opinions;  but  he  was 
impatient  to  acquire  a  standing.  If  Corlies 
had  suggested  flying  the  river,  Hatfield 
would  have  gone  at  it  without  hesitation. 
When  Forbes  had  offered  him  the  mount 
for  the  steeplechase,  the  night  before  at 
dinner,  he  felt  that  his  chance  had  come. 

Forbes  knew  that  Hatfield  was  green, 
but  he  had  observed  that  he  rode  with 
his  heart  in  it;  and,  moreover,  there  was 
no  one  else  to  put  up  who  could  make  the 
weight.  He  had  written  to  Carty  Car- 
teret,  offering  him  the  mount,  and  the  day 
before  had  received  a  telegram  of  regret. 
Carteret  wired  that  he  knew  the  Rajah, 
that  his  accident  policy  had  expired,  and 
that  he  owed  it  to  his  beloved  parents 
to  decline.  The  fact  was  that  Carteret 
wanted  to  hunt  that  day  in  Philadelphia. 
The  telegram  nettled  Forbes,  because  he 
was  sure  the  horse  could  win.  There  were 
exactly  eight  other  gentlemen  at  Oakdale 
each  privately  holding  similar  views  about 
his  own  horse. 

When  Hatfield  went  into  the  breakfast- 
room  he  found  Corlies  there. 


HIS   FIRST   RACE  171 

"  He  's  around  awfully  early,"  thought 
Hatfield.  But  Corlies's  ways  were  not  as 
other  men's.  Neither  did  people  ask  him 
personal  questions.  He  nodded  to  the  boy. 

"  Better  take  your  coffee  with  me,"  he 
said. 

"I  'd  like  to,"  Hatfield  answered  as 
calmly  as  he  could.  It  was  a  distinction 
to  breakfast  with  Whitney  Corlies.  What 
Corlies  did  not  know  about  horses,  and 
what  he  could  not  do  with  them,  were  not 
things  of  consequence.  He  was  a  lean, 
finely  proportioned  man  of  forty-five. 
Everything  he  did  he  did  well  and  easily. 
All  his  life  the  world  had  run  after  him. 
What  he  thought  about  it  no  one  knew, 
for  he  rarely  spoke.  Men  as  well  as 
women  thought  him  handsome.  Meis- 
sonier  might  have  painted  him  as  a  colonel 
of  cavalry.  He  was  unmarried,  and  there 
was  a  romantic  story  about  him.  Once 
Hatfield  had  asked  Mrs.  Innis  about  it. 
She  looked  surprised,  and  told  him  that 
she  did  n't  know  the  details. 

"  So  you  're  riding  the  Rajah,"  said 
Corlies,  as  the  boy  sat  down. 


172  GALLOPS    I 

"Yes,"  said  Hatfield.  "I  've  never 
been  on  his  back,  and  I  Ve  never  ridden 
a  race  before.  I  'm  afraid  I  shall  make 
rather  a  mess  of  it." 

"  He  's  a  brute  at  times,"  observed 
Corlies.  He  spread  out  his  paper,  and 
proceeded  to  take  the  top  off  his  egg. 
Presently  he  spoke  again: 

"  It  's  going  to  be  wet.  Have  you  got 
a  braided  rein?  " 

"No,"  replied  Hatfield.  "Perhaps 
Forbes  has,  though." 

"  He  does  n't  believe  in  them,"  said 
Corlies.  "  I  '11  have  one  sent  down  for 
you.  Your  horse  bores.  I  rode  him 
once."  The  Rajah  was  an  English  horse. 
When  he  was  six  years  old,  and  sound, 
Corlies  had  ridden  him  in  the  Grand 
National. 

"Thank  you  for  the  rein,"  said  Hat- 
field.  "  It  was  very  good  of  you  to  think 
about  it."  He  was  pleased,  because  he 
knew  that  Corlies  paid  few  attentions  to 
men.  Besides,  he  had  experienced  the 
difficulty  of  bringing  a  bolter's  head 
around  with  an  ordinary  wet  bridle-rein. 


HIS   FIRST   RACE  173 

What  he  had  heard  about  the  Rajah  was 
not  assuring.  A  horse  that  bored  was 
likely  to  get  his  head  down,  and  run  into 
a  jump  without  rising.  He  knew  of  a 
man  who  had  been  hopelessly  crippled  by 
such  an  accident. 

Presently  Corlies  rose.  "  Don't  you 
want  to  see  the  paper?"  he  said.  He 
pushed  the  sheets  over  the  table.  "  You  'd 
better  find  out  whether  Forbes  has  had 
the  horse  sharp-shod.  He  's  careless  about 
such  things."  He  nodded  and  moved  off. 

MOST  of  the  men  who  were  going  to  ride, 
and  a  number  who  were  n't,  lunched  at 
the  club  that  day.  They  made  a  party 
around  the  big  center-table.  It  was 
noticeable  that  those  who  were  going  to 
look  on  seemed  to  be  having  the  best 
time.  They  talked  most  and  ate  most. 
The  others  talked  less,  and  pecked  at 
things  with  a  great  show  of  appetite , 
some  of  them  drank  liberally,  Willie 
Colfax,  who  sat  next  to  Hatfield,  was 
lunching  mainly  upon  a  magnum  of 
Bass. 


174  GALLOPS    I 

"  Better  have  some/'  he  suggested  po 
litely,  for  the  fourth  time. 

"No,"  said  Hatfield;  "I  don't  think 
I  '11  drink  anything.  To  tell  the  truth,  I 
don't  feel  like  eating  much,  either." 

Colfax  grinned. 

"  Don't  feel  much  like  gorging,  myself;" 
he  remarked  confidentially.  "  That 's  why 
I  've  got  this."  He  nodded  toward  the 
magnum. 

"  Are  you  really  feeling  that  way,  too?  " 
Hatfield  asked.  Colfax  had  ridden  many 
steeplechases. 

"  Why,  of  course,"  he  replied.  "  It  's 
nothing  to  be  ashamed  of.  It  's  just  ex 
citement.  None  of  them  are  really  feed 
ing,"  he  went  on,  waving  his  hand  toward 
the  men  who  were  dressed  to  ride.  "  They 
're  just  putting  up  a  bluff — that  is,  all 
except  Corlies.  He  's  colder  than  am 
monia-pipes.  I  say,  Charles,"  he  remarked 
to  Galloway,  "  have  some  game-pie.  It  's 
hearty,  you  know.  You  're  a  little  short 
of  weight." 

Galloway  laughed. 

"  Pass  it  to  Hatfield,"  he  said.     "  If  he  's 


HIS  FIRST   RACE  175 

riding  the  Rajah,  it  '11  be  his  last  meal  on 
earth,  and  he  ought  to  make  the  most 
of  it." 

"Oh,  shut  up!"  snapped  Forbes. 
"  I  'm  sick  of  hearing  you  run  down  my 
horse.  Why  have  you  always  wanted  to 
buy  him?  " 

"To  feed  to  the  hounds,"  said  Gallo 
way,  sweetly.  "  But  if  he  's  all  right,  why 
don't  you  ride  him  yourself?  Why  are 
you  always  looking  for  foolhardy  boys  ?  " 

Forbes  declined  to  reply. 

"  Don't  pay  any  attention  to  him,"  he 
said  to  Hatfield.  "  He  knows  we  have 
the  legs  of  the  lot,  with  the  possible  ex 
ception  of  Corlies's  mare.  We  're  going 
to  win." 

"Do  you  really  think  so?"  asked  Hat- 
field.  "You  know,"  he  added,  "I  'm 
afraid  I  'm  a  hoodoo." 

"Nonsense!"  said  Forbes. 

The  chaffing  went  on,  and  Hatfield  fell 
to  studying  the  faces  of  the  men  he  was 
going  to  ride  against.  They  seemed  to 
him  discouragingly  unconcerned.  He  felt 
drawn  to  Colfax,  who  admitted  that  food 


176  GALLOPS    I 

had  no  fascinations.  Yet,  if  these  men 
were  free  from  apprehension,  there  could 
be  no  real  risk.  Three  of  them  were 
married — happily — and  had  families;  they 
were  not  indifferent  about  existence.  This 
was  a  logical  argument,  but  it  carried  no 
conviction. 

"  When  you  've  finished,"  said  Forbes, 
"  we  might  start  along.  The  Rajah  's  at 
the  stables.  I  thought  you  might  like  to 
walk  him  down  to  the  course,  and  get  your 
legs  bent  over  him." 

"Thanks,"  said  Hatfield;  "I  should." 
He  had  dressed  before  lunch,  and  had 
a  morning-coat  over  his  racing-jacket. 
Forbes's  colors  were  very  gaudy — scarlet 
and  black  hoops.  As  they  reached  the 
stables  a  coach-horn  sounded,  and  Hat- 
field  looked  back.  The  Alden  Adamses' 
drag  was  swinging  through  the  grounds. 
The  crowd  had  begun  to  gather.  Al 
ready  the  court  before  the  porte-cochere 
was  filled  with  traps  and  with  men  on 
hacks  who  were  stopping  at  the  club  to 
see  the  list  of  starters.  The  horn  sounded 
again,  and  the  "four"  rumbled  past. 


HIS   FIRST    RACE  177 

Hatfield  caught  a  glimpse  •  of  the  Girl, 
buttoned  up  to  the  chin  in  a  man's  mackin 
tosh,  but  she  did  n't  see  him.  She  was 
sitting  between  two  loquacious  young 
men  who,  together  with  the  rest  of  the 
party,  seemed  needlessly  jolly.  He  fol 
lowed  the  back  of  her  sailor  hat  with  his 
eyes  till  the  coach  disappeared  around  the 
turn  that  led  to  the  porte-cochere.  Sud 
denly  Forbes  touched  him  on  the  arm,  and 
he  felt  himself  blushing.  The  Rajah  had 
been  led  out,  and  was  standing  beside  him. 
He  turned  and  clambered  into  the  saddle. 

"  Take  him  quietly,"  said  Forbes. 
"  He  's  feeling  a  bit  beany,  and  he  may 
bolt.  Your  stirrups  seem  about  right. 
I  '11  see  you  at  the  post.  I  'm  going  to 
drive  down.  There  's  a  boy  waiting  for 
you  on  the  course." 

Hatfield  followed  the  path  around  the 
stables,  and  turned  into  the  lane  that  led 
down  to  the  great  meadow  where  the 
steeplechase  course  was  laid.  Ahead  of 
him  was  a  dotted  line  of  traps  and  hooded 
and  blanketed  horses  moving  slowly  to 
ward  the  track.  A  Hempstead  cart  with 


178  GALLOPS    I 

a  lively  pony  dashed  by,  and  the  Rajah 
shied  into  the  fence.  Hatfield  lost  a 
stirrup,  and  the  young  man  in  the  cart 
snickered.  Hatfield  felt  that  he  must  be 
making  himself  ridiculous.  One  vehicle 
after  another  passed,  and  he  knew  that 
each  time  the  occupants  were  comment 
ing  upon  his  inexperience.  As  he  reached 
the  meadow  he  heard  the  coach-horn 
again,  and  turned  out.  The  drag  swept 
by  at  a  canter.  The  Girl  saw  him  this 
time,  and  bowed ;  but  it  was  a  distant, 
formal  little  nod,  and  she  knew  it.  To 
her,  he  looked  very  bored  and  indifferent. 
It  seemed  profitable  to  her  to  appear  to 
him  much  interested  in  other  matters.  She 
did  not  know  she  was  cruel. 

"You  're  dining  with  us,  you  know!" 
Adams  yelled  from  the  box. 

Hatfield  nodded.  "  If  I  'm  dining  any 
where,"  he  murmured.  He  followed  the 
drag  with  his  eyes.  The  people  on  it  were 
having  a  very  good  time,  and  he  com 
pared  himself  with  them  —  particularly 
with  the  two  insufferable  young  men.  It 
struck  him  as  a  queer  misnomer  to  call 


HIS   FIRST   RACE  179 

riding  steeplechases  an  amusement.  Then  he 
bowed  to  Galloway,  who  drove  by  with  the 
Braybrookes ;  for  Mrs.  Galloway  would  n't 
come  when  her  husband  rode.  Galloway 
was  joking  with  Mrs.  Braybrooke,  and  to  all 
appearances  he  seemed  conspicuously  gay. 
Those  familiar  with  his  habits,  however, 
knew  that  after  lunch  he  usually  smoked 
a  cigar;  now  he  was  sucking  his  lungs 
full  of  cigarette  smoke.  Hatfield  rode 
toward  the  judges'  stand,  where  the  scales 
were,  and  one  of  Corlies's  grooms  came  up 
to  him. 

"  Here  's  the  racing-rein,  sir,"  said  the 
man.  "  Mr.  Corlies  told  me  I  was  to  put 
it  on  the  Rajah.  You  '11  be  likely  to  need 
it,  sir."  A  little  squall  burst  from  the  south, 
driving  a  fine  drizzle  across  the  plain. 

"  I  '11  weigh  out  while  you  're  putting 
it  on,"  said  Hatfield.  He  took  the  saddle 
and  breastplate,  and  went  to  the  scales. 

"A  hundred  and  sixty-eight,"  the  clerk 
said.  He  was  three  pounds  over,  but  all 
overweight  was  allowed.  He  borrowed  a 
pair  of  lighter  stirrup-irons  from  a  boy  on 
a  pony,  got  his  number,  and  went  back  to 


i8o  GALLOPS    I 

his  horse.  Forbes's  man  came  along  with 
a  bucket,  and  began  to  sponge  out  the 
Rajah's  mouth.  Presently  Forbes  ap 
peared. 

"  They  're  about  ready,"  he  said.  "  You 
know  the  course.  It  's  the  hurdle,  the 
mound,  the  brush,  and  the  liverpool  of  the 
regular  course,  and  then  a  two-mile  flagged 
loop  over  natural  fences,  back  on  to  the 
course,  over  the  water  and  the  hurdle,  and 
finish  down  the  regular  stretch.  That  's 
about  four  miles,  or  a  little  more.  The 
Rajah  will  last,  and  jump  strong.  Don't 
hurry  him,  but  don't  bother  him  by  trying 
to  lie  too  far  back.  Let  him  rate  along 
and  make  the  pace,  if  he  wants  to  and  can. 
The  only  mean  place  is  in  the  loop,  com 
ing  back,  where  there  's  something  of  a 
drop  on  the  other  side  of  the  hedge  fence. 
Get  him  well  in  hand  there,  and  don't  try 
to  fly  it,  or  you  may  come  to  grief.  The 
committee  should  n't  put  such  a  thing  in 
the  course.  But  I  've  put  a  boy  there,  in 
case  you  have  a  spill.  Keep  your  whip 
till  the  stretch.  Hello ! "  he  added,  "  where 
did  you  get  that  rein  ?  " 


HIS   FIRST   RACE  181 

"  Corlies  lent  it  to  me,"  said  Hatfield. 

Forbes  glanced  up  curiously. 

"  Corlies  ?  "  he  repeated.  He  looked  the 
rein  over,  and  tested  its  strength.  "  It  's 
all  right,"  he  muttered, — "of  course,"  he 
added.  "  That 's  queer  for  Corlies,  though. 
Give  me  your  coat." 

Hatfield  stripped  it  off,  and  rode  away 
shivering  in  his  colors  to  the  place  where 
the  parade  was  forming.  The  bugle 
sounded,  and  they  filed  past  the  line  of 
spectators  to  the  post.  He  fixed  his  eyes 
on  his  horse's  neck,  but  he  was  conscious 
that  the  gaze  of  the  crowd  was  on  him. 
His  face  burned  and  his  head  began  to 
swim.  He  clutched  the  saddle  with  his 
knees,  and  coaxed  the  fretful  Rajah  into 
line.  Suddenly  some  one  said,  "Go!" 
and  the  race  had  begun. 

The  sudden  speed  took  his  breath  away, 
and  he  hung  back.  He  saw  that  the  field 
were  going  at  the  first  jump,  in  two  lines. 
He  put  his  weight  on  the  Rajah's  mouth, 
and  fell  back  into  the  second.  He  recog 
nized  Corlies  as  he  rose  to  the  hurdle 
ahead.  Corlies  sat  back  leisurely,  and 


i82  GALLOPS    I 

horse  and  man  went  over  like  a  single 
creature.  The  rest  he  saw  only  as  a  con 
fused  line  of  bobbing  figures.  The  next 
instant  his  own  horse,  with  a  rush,  sprang 
into  the  air,  landed,  and  was  bolting  after 
the  leaders.  He  pulled  him  in  as  he  came 
up  on  Galloway's  off  side.  Then  his 
strength  seemed  to  ooze  out,  and  he  was 
panting.  A  horse's  head  crept  up  on  his 
right.  He  glanced  around,  and  saw  Cor- 
lies,  who  forged  up.  They  galloped,  with 
their  knees  almost  brushing. 

"  Steady,"  said  Corlies,  quietly ;  "  there 's 
four  miles."  The  boy  shut  his  lips  tight, 
and  nodded. 

"Can  I  last  four  miles?"  he  began  to 
ask  himself.  He  was  determined  that  he 
would,  but  he  did  not  see  how  it  was  to 
be  done;  he  was  pumped  already.  They 
approached  the  bank,  and  the  three  took 
it  together.  He  felt  the  Rajah's  knees  rub 
the  top  sods,  but  he  gained  half  a  length 
on  Galloway  in  the  leap.  He  realized 
then  what  they  meant  when  they  called 
the  horse  a  "  close  jumper."  Presently  a 
warm  glow  broke  over  him,  and  his  breath 


HIS   FIRST   RACE  183 

came  more  easily.  The  speed  no  longer 
frightened  him.  It  was  getting  into  his 
blood.  His  nervous  apprehensions  van 
ished.  He  felt  a  mad  exhilaration  coming 
over  him.  It  was  like  the  fury  of  the 
Berserker.  "I  'm  going  to  win!"  he 
muttered.  Then  he  suddenly  understood 
why  men  ride  steeplechases.  He  settled 
comfortably  into  the  saddle,  and  took  an 
easier  hold  on  his  horse's  head.  The 
Rajah  was  working  under  him  like  a  steel 
machine.  He  flew  the  brush  as  if  shot 
from  a  mortar.  A  wild  thrill  went  through 
him,  and  he  caught  himself  laughing 
hysterically.  He  turned  in  the  saddle, 
and  looked  back  at  the  field.  Galloway 
was  pounding  along  on  his  left,  a  length 
behind.  Braybrooke  was  lapping  Gallo 
way,  still  farther  out.  Directly  in  the  rear 
was  Colfax,  and  behind  him  came  the  rest 
in  a  bunch.  On  his  right,  and  galloping 
neck  and  neck,  was  Corlies.  As  they 
neared  the  liverpool  he  became  aware  that 
Galloway  was  drawing  up.  Corlies  called 
sharply : 

"  Don't  let  him  head  you  here!" 


184  GALLOPS    I 

Afterward  Hatfield  found  out  what  this 
advice  meant.  At  that  time  he  merely 
acted  upon  it.  He  glanced  back  anxiously, 
and  felt  for  the  cutting- whip,  tucked  under 
his  leg.  But  the  Rajah  was  holding  Gal 
loway  stride  for  stride,  and  they  flew  the 
liverpool  three  abreast.  The  course  bore 
to  the  right,  and  led  over  a  board  fence 
into  a  corn-field.  The  going  grew  heavy, 
and  he  felt  his  mount  struggling  ankle- 
deep.  Instinctively  he  checked  him  to  a 
hand-gallop.  He  knew  that  he  had  done 
right  when  he  saw  Corlies  take  in  his  rein 
and  keep  by  his  side. 

With  a  whoop  Galloway  went  by,  Bray- 
brooke  followed,  and  Colfax  came  along 
side.  A  clod  of  mud  from  Braybrooke's 
horse  plastered  Hatfield's  cheek.  In  a 
moment  they  rose  to  the  next  fence,  and 
were  on  good  turf  again.  He  heard  a 
crash,  and,  twisting  around,  saw  some  one 
fall.  "Some  one  's  down!"  he  said  to 
Corlies.  Corlies  nodded.  They  began  to 
overtake  Braybrooke  and  Galloway.  He 
saw  Galloway  clap  in  his  heels,  and  again 
he  felt  nervously  for  his  whip ;  but  he  re- 


HIS    FIRST    RACE  185 

membered  his  orders,  and  did  not  take  it 
out.  A  series  of  fierce  puffs  of  wind  sud 
denly  checked  them  appreciably  and  an 
other  rain  squall  broke  down  the  valley, 
and  met  them  in  the  face.  The  water 
filled  his  eyes,  and  he  lost  track  of  distance 
and  direction.  He  saw  two  blurred  figures 
ahead,  and  followed  them.  Looking  down, 
the  earth  seemed  a  brown-green  tide  that 
rushed  by.  Suddenly  to  the  right  he 
made  out  the  flags  on  the  fence  he  was 
nearing,  and  realized  that  he  was  out  of 
the  course.  The  Rajah  put  his  head  down, 
and  bored  still  farther  to  the  left.  He 
leaned  forward,  took  the  rein  up  short, 
and  swung  him  back,  barely  in  time  to  go 
over  the  rails  inside  the  streamer.  He  lost 
his  stirrups  in  landing,  and  groped  for  the 
swinging  irons.  He  was  half-way  across 
the  field  before  he  got  them.  His  thigh 
muscles  were  limp,  and  he  was  rocking  in 
the  saddle.  "  It  must  be  half  over,"  he 
thought.  They  were  nearing  a  hedge 
faced  with  a  board  fence.  The  Rajah 
rose,  and  that  instant  Hatfield  saw  the 
drop  on  the  farther  side.  He  had  forgot- 


i86  GALLOPS    I 

ten  Forbes's  instructions  to  shorten  his 
pace.  He  hunched  his  shoulders  for  a 
fall;  but  the  old  horse  collected  himself, 
and  landed  with  his  fore  legs  well  away. 
Hatfield  went  up  on  his  neck,  but  scrambled 
back  and  got  his  stirrups  again. 

Braybrooke  and  Galloway  were  drop 
ping  back.  Corlies  was  still  on  his 
quarter,  to  the  right.  They  rounded  the 
loop,  and  with  the  next  jump  turned  on 
to  the  steeplechase  course  again.  If  the 
horse  lasted,  he  knew  now  that  it  lay 
between  him  and  Corlies.  He  gritted  his 
teeth,  and  tried  to  steady  his  seat.  But 
inch  by  inch  Corlies  drew  up  and  forged 
past.  Hatfield  took  the  water  two  lengths 
behind  him,  and  the  Rajah  was  beginning 
to  lean  upon  the  bit.  The  spring  had 
gone  out  of  his  stride,  but  he  kept  to  his 
work.  He  was  four  lengths  behind  when 
Corlies  went  at  the  last  hurdle.  This  was 
built  solidly  of  new  rails.  Suddenly  Hat- 
field  knew  that  Corlies's  mare  had  taken 
off  too  soon.  She  seemed  to  hang  a 
moment,  and  then  to  shoot  heels  over  head 
directly  in  his  path.  He  put  his  weight 


HIS   FIRST   RACE  187 

on  the  Rajah's  mouth,  and  swung  him  close 
to  the  wing  on  the  left.  The  checked 
horse  floundered  into  the  hurdle,  and 
bucked  weakly  over.  As  he  landed,  Hat- 
field  saw  Corlies's  mare  roll  across  her 
rider  and  scramble  up;  but  Corlies  lay 
motionless  on  his  side  in  front  of  the 
middle  of  the  jump.  Hatfield  heard  Gal 
loway  and  Braybrooke  galloping  up.  He 
flung  himself  to  the  ground  beside  the 
unconscious  man. 

"Look  out!"  Galloway  yelled.  He 
was  taking  off  on  the  other  side.  Bray 
brooke  was  beside  him.  The  boy  caught 
Corlies  under  the  armpits,  and  staggered 
back,  as  the  two  horses  landed.  He  saw  the 
Rajah  and  the  mare  go  off  with  them  down 
the  stretch.  Then  he  bent  over  the  in 
jured  man,  and  tore  open  his  racing-jacket. 
Underneath,  Corlies  wore  a  flannel  waist 
coat.  Hatfield  unbuttoned  it  and  felt  for 
the  heart.  Some  papers  in  an  elastic  band 
slipped  out  of  the  inside  pocket  and  fell 
to  the  ground.  The  heart  was  faintly 
beating,  and  Hatfield  sat  down  with  the 
man's  head  in  his  lap.  He  himself  was 


i88  GALLOPS    I 

"done."  He  saw  Colfax  come  over  the 
hurdle,  then  another  and  another.  Then  a 
man  rode  around  the  jump  to  where  he  was 
and  dismounted.  It  was  Varick. 

"  Is  he  bad?  "  he  panted. 

"I  don't  know,"  said  Hatfield.  Pres 
ently  some  men  rode  up  on  ponies,  and  a 
farmer  came  with  a  wagon.  They  lifted 
Corlies  in,  and  went  off  toward  the  finish. 
Hatfield  slipped  Corlies's  papers  into  his 
hip  pocket,  and  walked  slowly  after  them 
with  Varick,  who  was  leading  his  horse. 

"You  pulled  him  out,  did  n't  you?" 
asked  Varick.  "  He  had  a  close  call." 

Hatfield  nodded.  "  St.  Lawrence  seems 
pumped,"  he  said,  glancing  at  Varick's 
dripping  horse.  "  It  was  fast,  was  n't  it  ?  " 

Varick  grinned  dismally.  "  St.  Larry 
has  had  enough.  That  was  an  awful 
corn-field." 

They  went  on  in  silence  to  the  crowd 
which  had  gathered  about  the  wagon,  and 
met  Colfax  on  the  edge  of  it. 

"  Charley  Galloway  won,"  he  said.  He 
looked  at  Hatfield.  "  You  gave  it  away. 
You  might  have  won  as  you  liked." 


HIS   FIRST   RACE  189 

"  How  's  Whitney?  "  asked  Varick. 

"  All  right,"  Colfax  answered.  "  He  's 
come  to.  The  wind  was  rolled  out  of  him, 
and  a  couple  of  ribs  cracked.  You  can't 
kill  him.  Good  race,  was  n't  it?  I  wish 
I  had  n't  drunk  so  much  ale,"  he  added 
to  Hatfield.  "  I  'm  far  from  well." 

Then  Forbes  came  up. 

"  Well,  I  lost  the  race  for  you,"  said 
Hatfield.  "  I  'm  sorry."  He  was  not 
sorry,  though.  He  was  only  surprised  at 
the  suggestion  that  he  might  have  left 
Corlies  there  and  won  it.  He  was  new  at 
steeplechasing. 

"  It  's  all  in  the  game,"  said  Forbes. 
"  One  's  got  to  learn.  He  carried  you 
well,  did  n't  he?  Here  are  your  coats." 

The  people  and  the  vehicles  were  be 
ginning  to  scatter,  and  Hatfield  got  into 
Varick's  trap  and  drove  home.  As  they 
turned  into  the  club  grounds,  Adams's 
horn  sounded,  and  the  drag  went  by. 

"Remember,  dinner  at  eight!"  Adams 
shouted.  Then  the  Girl  bowed  again — it 
seemed  to  Hatfield,  quite  differently  this 
time.  It  was  a  bow  that  gave  him  a  very 


igo  GALLOPS    I 

comfortable  feeling.  He  caught  a  second 
glimpse  of  the  two  youths,  and  was  sur 
prised  that  he  had  ever  envied  them. 
They  were  only  a  pair  of  pasty-faced 
"  dancing  men." 

AFTER  the  race,  most  of  the  men  gathered 
in  the  club  for  drinks  and  discussion ;  but 
Hatfield  went  to  his  room.  He  lighted  his 
fire,  and  rang  for  his  tub  and  hot  water. 
Then  he  took  the  three  letters  from  his 
writing-case,  and  burned  them.  He  was 
tired,  but  his  nerves  were  pleasurably 
drowsy.  He  sat  down  and  watched  the 
blazing  sticks  with  a  delicious  animal  con 
tentment.  His  thoughts  were  agreeable 
ones.  There  was  a  new  feeling  of  confi 
dence  in  himself,  and  a  consciousness  of 
power  that  he  had  never  had  before.  He 
had  a  curious  sense,  too,  of  having  sud 
denly  grown  older,  and  it  pleased  him. 

The  evening  came  on,  and  he  was  getting 
ready  for  dinner  when  a  servant  knocked, 
and  told  him  that  Corlies  would  like  to  see 
him.  He  recollected  the  papers  which  he 
had  forgotten  to  return,  took  them  from 


HIS   FIRST  RACE  191 

his  breeches  pocket,  and  went  to  the 
injured  man's  room.  Corlies  lay  in  bed. 
The  doctor  had  cleaned  him  up  and  ban 
daged  his  ribs.  His  left  arm  was  sprained 
and  lay  across  his  breast  in  a  sling.  He 
smiled  as  Hatfield  came  in. 

"You  see,  I  'm  all  right,"  he  said. 
"  Sore,  though.  Much  obliged  to  you. 
They  've  just  told  me  about  it.  You  could 
have  won,  you  know." 

The  boy  laughed.  "  I  don't  know  about 
that,"  he  said.  "  Anyway,  I  should  n't 
have  deserved  it,  if  I  had  won.  I  was  in 
a  horrible  funk  before  the  race."  He 
hesitated  a  moment.  "  I  might  as  well 
confess  it,"  he  went  on ;  "I  even  had  a 
farewell  letter  all  written  to  my  mother. 
By  the  way,"  he  added,  "  I  opened  your 
shirt  when  you  were  down,  and  these  bills 
and  things  got  loose.  I  forgot  to  send 
them  in." 

Corlies  looked  up  anxiously.  "  Oh, 
thanks,"  he  said.  "  I  was  wondering  what 
had  become  of  that."  He  stretched  out  his 
well  arm  and  took  the  packet.  With  his 
fingers  he  worked  off  the  rubber  band,  and 


IQ2  GALLOPS    I 

glancing  over  the  envelops,  laid  them  on 
the  bedclothes. 

"  Is  everything  there?  "  asked  Hatfield. 

Corlies  nodded  and  smiled.  He  seemed 
relieved.  "  You  rode  a  good  race,"  he 
said.  "  You  kept  your  head." 

The  boy  flushed  with  pleasure. 

"  Of  course,  it  was  my  first,"  he  answered. 
"  I  hope  next  time  I  won't  be  so  rattled." 

"  Your  first,"  repeated  Corlies,  mus 
ingly.  i(  It  was  pretty  nearly  my  last. 
I  thought  it  was  going  to  be.  I  had 
a  presentiment  that  the  mare  was  com 
ing  over  on  me  when  she  hit.  But  you 
will  ride  well,"  he  added.  "  I  should  n't 
worry  about  funking.  You  know,  a  man 
can  even  be  afraid  and  ride  tolerably  well." 
He  smiled.  "  You  spoke  about  the  letter 
you  wrote.  Well,  I  've  carried  a  letter  in 
every  race  I  've  ridden  for  twenty  years." 
He  felt  absent-mindedly  for  the  papers  in 
front  of  him,  blundered,  and  sent  them  slid 
ing  down  the  coverlet  off  the  bed.  Instinc 
tively  Hatfield  stooped  to  gather  them  up. 

"  Never  mind,"  said  Corlies.  "No; 
don't!"  he  called  sharply. 


HIS    FIRST   RACE  193 

But  the  boy  already  had  got  them,  and 
was  standing,  bent  over,  his  eyes  fixed  on 
a  worn  envelop  that  bore  the  name  "  Hat- 
field."  He  would  have  doubted  his  sight, 
but  the  writing  was  very  plain.  There  in 
his  hand  was  a  letter  addressed  to  his  own 
mother.  What  did  it  mean?  A  train  of 
strange  thoughts  flashed  through  his  brain ; 
the  blood  rushed  into  his  cheeks.  He 
straightened  up  and  fixed  his  eyes,  angry 
and  questioning,  on  Corlies's  face.  The 
sick  man  met  his  gaze  frankly,  and  for  a 
time  they  looked  into  each  other's  eyes. 
Suddenly  understanding  came  to  Hatfield, 
and  his  anger  faded  into  pity,  his  indigna 
tion  into  respect.  He  turned  his  head 
away,  and  held  out  the  packet. 

With  his  good  hand  Corlies  motioned 
it  back. 

"  Read  it,"  he  murmured. 

The  boy  shook  his  head,  and  dropped 
the  letters  on  the  bed.  Then  the  shadow 
of  a  smile,  sad  and  gentle,  rested  an  instant 
on  the  sick  man's  mouth,  a  strange  tender 
ness  flashed  in  his  eyes,  and  again  his  face 
became  grave  and  expressionless. 


194  GALLOPS    I 

"Yes,"  he  said  slowly;  "  I  thought  this 
time  that  it  was  all  up.  It  was  an  ugly 
spill."  He  stopped,  and  turned  his  eyes 
to  the  ceiling.  "  It  's  a  good  way  to  go, 
though,"  he  said  presently;  "  is  n't  it? — 
quick,  and  without  any  fuss." 

"  Yes ;  that  's  so,"  said  Hatfield.  Then 
he  remembered  his  dinner  at  the  Adamses'. 
"That  is,  if  one  wants  to  go;  but  I  'm 
hardly  ready  yet.  Is  there  anything  I  can 
do  for  you?"  he  added.  "You  see,  I  'm 
dining  out,  and  I  'm  afraid  my  trap  's  wait 
ing.  I  '11  look  in,  of  course,  when  I  come 
back." 

There  was  no  answer.  Corlies  had 
closed  his  eyes,  and  seemed  to  be  falling 
into  a  doze.  Then  Hatfield  drew  the 
shade  around  the  candle,  and  tiptoed  out. 


CARTY    CARTERET'S    SISTER 


CARTY   CARTERET'S    SISTER 

"  CLEANOR,"  said  Miss  Carteret,  "  I  'd 

I—/  like  a  trap  at  half-past  eleven.  Mr. 
Bennings  and  I  want  to  drive  over  to  Cap 
tain  Forbes's.  And  you  '11  come  ?  "  she 
added  to  Willie  Colfax. 

He  nodded  affably,  and  helped  himself 
to  marmalade.  Mr.  Bennings  looked  an 
noyed. 

"  We  're  going  to  buy  horses,"  she  con 
tinued.  "  That  is,  I  'm  going  to  buy  one. 
Mr.  Bennings,  I  believe,  is  going  to  buy  a 
drove." 

Mr.  Bennings  raised  his  hand  in  depre 
cation. 

"Aw— I  say,  not  a  drove;  just  a  few 
likely  ones,"  he  remarked. 

"  Polly  Carteret,"  said  Mrs.  Braybrooke, 

197 


198  GALLOPS    I 

"  you  're  an  extravagant  goose !  What  in 
the  world  will  you  do  with  a  horse  ?  " 

"  I  shall  give  him  sugar,"  Miss  Carteret 
replied.  "  That  will  be  one  thing." 

Mr.  James  Braybrooke  stared  at  her, 
gathered  up  the  sporting-pages  of  the 
newspaper,  and  left  the  table. 

"You  're  impossible!"  said  Mrs.  Bray 
brooke.  She  went  to  the  window,  and 
looked  out.  The  Braybrookes'  breakfast- 
room  commanded  a  stretch  of  rolling  lawn 
set  with  mighty  oaks.  The  Indian-sum 
mer  sun  was  streaming  down  upon  it. 

"  You  see,  Mr.  Bennings,"  observed  Miss 
Carteret,  "  this  is  the  way  they  encourage 
me  to  patronize  Oakdale  horses.  When  I 
was  little  I  did  n't  care  much  about  horses, 
and  Eleanor  used  to  make  me  feel  that  my 
life  was  a  failure.  Now  I  want  to  buy  a 
horse,  and  she  calls  me  extravagant." 

"  It  's  getting  married,"  volunteered 
Willie  Colfax.  "  Don't  do  it.  You  lose 
your  nerve  and  grow  economical.  One  's 
always  thinking  about  the  little  ones  who 
have  to  be  educated  and  set  up  in  life. 
Please,  more  coffee,  Nell,"  he  added. 


CARTY   CARTERET'S   SISTER  199 

Mrs.  Braybrooke  colored. 

"  Don't  irritate  your  sister/'  said  Miss 
Carteret.  "  I  '11  pour  it." 

Mr.  Bennings  seemed  to  have  something 
on  his  mind.  He  held  the  marmalade-jar 
suspended  in  air. 

"  But — aw,  I  say,"  he  observed  seriously, 
"  really,  now,  a  good  nag,  you  know,  is  not 
a  bad  investment." 

Mrs.  Braybrooke  turned  from  the  win 
dow,  and  regarded  him  with  something 
like  a  sniff. 

"  But  she  does  n't  know  a  good  one. 
Now,  I  say,  if  you  don't  know  horses,  just 
be  a  lady  ;  only  don't  pretend.  And,  Polly 
Carteret,  you  don't  know  any  more  about 
horses  than" — she  looked  about  as  if  for 
a  comparison,  but  found  none  which  was 
adequate — "than  THAT!"  she  exclaimed. 
"And  the  way  you  talk  is  ridiculous." 

"  Mr.  Bennings,"  said  Miss  Carteret, 
mildly,  "do  you  believe  her?"  Mr.  Ben 
nings  deemed  himself  rather  discerning 
about  women. 

"  No,  'pon  my  word,  Mrs.  Braybrooke," 
he  replied,  "  honestly,  now,  I  can't  believe 


200  GALLOPS    I 

that,  you  know.  You  misunderstand  Miss 
Carteret;  you  really  do.  We  had  a  long 
conversation  last  evening,  and  she  im 
pressed  me  as  very  well  informed — unusu 
ally  well  informed.  Perhaps  not  so  keen 
about  racin',  you  know,  but  very  well  up 
on  huntin'-cattle."  He  set  down  the  mar 
malade-jar,  and  glanced  at  Miss  Carteret 
for  a  smile  of  gratitude ;  and  Miss  Carteret 
smiled. 

"There!"  she  said  to  Mrs.  Braybrooke; 
"  I  told  you  I  had  learned  about  horses. 
Don't  be  so  superior." 

Mrs.  Braybrooke  shot  a  glance  at  Ben- 
nings,  and  her  nostrils  quivered. 

"  When  you  finish,  come  into  the  morn 
ing-room,"  she  remarked.  "  I  want  to  find 
Jimmy."  She  went  out,  followed  by  her 
brother,  who  was  trying  to  lead  her  into 
a  discussion  of  some  ideas  relative  to 
matrimony. 

"  I  say,"  said  Bennings,  when  they  were 
alone, — he  spoke  confidentially, — "you 
were  chaffin',  don't  you  know,  about  buyin* 
a  nag  to  feed  him  sugar?" 

"  I  was  chaffing,"  replied  Miss  Carteret. 


CARTY   CARTERET'S    SISTER  201 

"You '  caught  on,'  so  to  speak,  very  quickly. 
Seriously,  I  should  never  think  of  buying 
a  horse  just  to  have  something  to  feed 
sugar  to.  With  so  many  poor  people  who 
can't  afford  sugar,  it  would  n't  be  ethical." 

"That  's  so,"  said  Bennings;  "but  at 
first  it  did  sound  just  a  bit  odd,  you  know. 
It  was  a  capital  joke,  though,"  he  added; 
"  and  I  do  like  a  joke." 

She  dropped  her  eyelids. 

"  I  could  see  that,"  she  said.  "  I  can't 
tolerate  people  who  don't  like  jokes." 

"You  don't  say  so!"  he  exclaimed. 
"That  's  very  interesting.  You  know," 
he  continued,  "  that  's  the  only  thing  I 
have  against  an  Englishman.  Awfully 
good  sort,  but  no  sense  of  fun,  you  know. 
I  've  been  over  there  a  good  deal,  but  I 
can't  get  used  to  that.  I  call  it  the  na 
tional  defect.  This  chap,  you  know, — 
Mark  Twain, — he  's  noticed  the  same  thing 
about  'em."  This  was  Bennings's  stock 
conversation  on  the  English  people. 

"  That 's  very  interesting,  too,"  observed 
Miss  Carteret.  "  Will  you  be  ready  at 
half -past  eleven?" 


202  GALLOPS    I 

"  At  your  service — always,"  he  ex 
claimed,  jumping  up.  Then  she  went  out, 
and  left  him  to  his  eggs. 

P.  St.  Clair  Bennings  had  arrived  at 
Oakdale  the  afternoon  before.  The  last 
time  Braybrooke  had  gone  to  town  he 
had  met  him  at  the  club,  and  they  had 
lunched  together.  As  it  was  October, 
they  naturally  discussed  hunting-stables, 
and  Braybrooke  asked  him  down  to  look 
over  Forbes's  string  before  it  went  to  the 
Horse  Show.  Bennings  was  glad  to  come, 
and  he  was  pleased  to  find  Miss  Carteret 
stopping  there,  because  he  ranked  women 
only  after  horses.  Miss  Carteret  had  made 
rather  quick  work  with  him.  He  already 
considered  her  a  "  devilish  fine  girl,"  and 
an  inner  voice  had  begun  to  ask  whether 
it  might  not  be  generous  to  shorten  his 
visit.  When  Bennings  first  came  into  his 
money  he  bravely  faced  the  fact  that  he 
could  not  both  hunt  and  marry,  so  he  put 
the  latter  out  of  his  mind.  He  had  so 
journed  long  in  Great  Britain  (as  unkind 
persons  intimated,  to  make  amends  for 
having  been  born  in  a  New  Jersey  manu- 


CARTY   CARTERET'S   SISTER  203 

facturing  town),  and,  moreover,  by  nature 
he  had  been  endowed  with  an  earnest 
rather  than  an  acute  intellect.  There  was 
not  much  more  to  be  said  about  him.  He 
rode  fairly  well.  His  clothes  were  distinc 
tive.  His  speech  was  that  version  of  the 
cockney  speech  of  England  which  is  pecu 
liar  to  the  "  American  malgre  lui" 

Miss  Carteret  was  a  school  friend  of 
Mrs.  Braybrooke's.  Their  mothers  had 
been  connected  in  some  way.  She  lived 
in  Washington,  but  she  had  been  born  on 
the  James  River,  which  accounted  for  a 
throaty,  Southern  quality  in  her  voice. 
She  spoke  slowly,  and  in  her  accent  there 
was  a  soft  echo  of  colored  mammies  which 
was  attractive.  Overlooking  such  artificial 
classifications  as  by  complexion  and  by 
morals,  girls  seem  to  fall  into  two  cate 
gories.  The  members  of  the  first  inspire 
esteem  and  nothing  more.  A  woman  be 
longs  to  the  second  when  men  simultane 
ously  pick  up  her  handkerchief  and  lurk 
in  wait  to  put  hassocks  under  her  feet. 
Conversely,  a  woman's  habit  of  confidently 
dropping  things  is  also  a  sign  of  the  type. 


204  GALLOPS    I 

Miss  Carteret  continually  was  shedding  her 
handkerchiefs  and  other  portables,  and,  as 
a  rule,  all  the  available  men  were  adjacent, 
and  anxious  to  restore  them.  She  was  tall 
and  blonde,  with  a  double  allowance  of 
pleasing  red  hair,  and  her  eyes  were  of  a 
curious  dark-blue  color.  As  she  herself 
had  remarked,  she  was  intelligent  without 
being  hampered  by  an  education. 

THE  trap  which  came  to  the  door  at 
half-past  eleven  was  Willie  Colfax's  tan 
dem.  Colfax  had  suggested  this  substitu 
tion  of  vehicles  to  avoid  the  possibility  of 
being  packed  in  behind,  and  Miss  Carteret 
had  accepted  it  gracefully.  She  liked  any 
thing  which  increased  the  probability  of 
something  happening.  "  I  'm  sure  Mr. 
Bennings  won't  mind,"  she  remarked; 
"and  if  he  does,  he  won't  say  so." 

She  got  into  the  high  cart  beside  Colfax, 
and  looked  down  pleasantly. 

"  I  do  hope,  Mr.  Bennings,"  she  said, 
"  that  you  really  don't  mind  sitting  in  be 
hind  with  the  man,  and  riding  backward. 
And  if  you  '11  get  my  parasol — I  left  it  on 


CARTY   CARTERET'S   SISTER  205 

a  chair  in  the  hall ;  and  please  ask  my  maid 
for  my  field-glasses ;  they  're  in  my  room. 
You  know,"  she  explained  to  Willie  Col- 
fax,  "  I  'm  getting  near-sighted,  and  I  'm 
going  to  look  at  these  horses  critically. 
Besides,  the  leather  case  is  rather  smart." 

"Rubbish!"  ejaculated  Colfax,  jerking 
the  wheeler,  who  was  restless.  "  Oh, 
hurry  up,  Bennings!"  he  bawled. 

Presently  Mr.  Bennings  appeared,  some 
what  out  of  breath,  and  climbed  up  behind, 
with  the  parasol  and  glasses. 

"  Now,  if  you  '11  hold  them,"  remarked 
Miss  Carteret,  "  I  guess  we  're  all  ready." 
She  waved  her  hand  to  Mrs.  Braybrooke, 
and  they  drove  off.  "  Good-by,  Elea 
nor!"  she  called.  "I  'm  going  to  buy 
such  a  nice  horsey!" 

Mrs.  Braybrooke  surveyed  her  with  dis 
approval. 

"  Jimmy  dear,"  she  remarked,  when  the 
cart  was  out  of  sight,  "  please,  like  a  good 
boy,  have  something  saddled,  and  ride 
over  there.  That  girl  will  do  something 
idiotic,  and  make  us  ridiculous." 

"Why    don't    you    muzzle   her?"   said 


206  GALLOPS    I 

Braybrooke.  "  She  's  your  friend."  Then 
he  went  in,  and  telephoned  to  the  stables. 

As  the  tandem  swung  into  Forbes's 
smooth  driveway,  Mr.  Bennings  caught  a 
fragment  of  the  conversation  which  was 
going  on  behind  him.  Thus  far  he  had 
been  occupied  in  keeping  in,  for  the  roads 
were  bad,  and  they  had  galloped  most  of 
the  way.  "  Well,  those  are  my  ideas  about 
horses,"  Miss  Carteret  was  saying.  "  I 
believe  in  judging  a  horse  according  to  the 
things  you  want  him  for,  just  as  you  would 
judge  dogs  or  furniture.  Seriously,  don't 
you  ?  "  She  laughed  a  little. 

"You  '11  be  the  death  of  me,"  replied 
Mr.  Colfax.  "  Brace  up,  and  don't  make 
a  holy  show  of  yourself.  You  can  make 
Nell  and  Jimmy  as  hot  as  you  want,  only 
behave  when  you  're  with  me.  You  don't 
seem  to  have  any  reverence."  Bishop 
Cunningham  once  had  made  this  comment 
to  him,  and  he  remembered  it.  Mr.  Col- 
fax's  acquaintance  with  Miss  Carteret 
dated  from  the  nursery,  and  warranted  a 
certain  freedom.  "  Great  Scott!"  he  ex- 


CARTY   CARTERET'S   SISTER  207 

claimed,  catching  a  glimpse  of  the  veranda, 
"  there  's  about  a  million  men  there." 

"Shall  we  go  back?"  inquired  Miss 
Carteret. 

"  Don't  be  foolish,"  he  muttered.  He 
made  a  spectacular  turn,  and  laid  his  thong 
over  the  leader.  Bennings  caught  himself 
when  he  was  nearly  out,  and  twisted 
around  on  the  seat. 

"  But  it  's  all  right,  you  know,"  he  re 
marked.  "  Forbes  is  a  married  man.  It 
will  be  all  right,  Miss  Carteret." 

"  Then  of  course  we  need  n't  go  back," 
replied  Miss  Carteret.  "Thank  you,  Mr. 
Bennings.  I  feel  much  more  comfortable. 
I  'm  rather  glad,  now,  that  they  're  there. 
They  can  help  us  to  choose,  can't  they?" 

"Why,  of  course,"  he  said  doubtfully. 
"  They  are  all  the  fellows,  you  know,  from 
the  club.  They  've  come  over  to  see  'em 
led  out." 

There  was  a  chorus  of  "  Good  morn 
ings "  as  the  cart  drew  up,  and  a  dozen 
men  in  tweed  breeches  and  morning-coats 
lifted  their  hats  and  took  their  smoking- 
things  out  of  their  mouths. 


208  GALLOPS    I 

"  Glad  to  see  you,"  said  Forbes,  coming 
down  the  steps.  He  had  been  presented 
to  Miss  Carteret  before.  "  The  show  is 
waiting.  How  are  you,  Bennings?  You 
too,  Willie?" 

"  Quite  well,  dear  boy,"  replied  Mr. 
Colfax.  "  Send  somebody  to  stand  by  my 
leader  while  Cook  gets  the  reins.  I  'm 
going  to  send  'em  to  the  stable." 

Miss  Carteret  stood  up  to  be  helped  out, 
and  the  dozen  men  came  forward  to  assist. 
Miss  Carteret  could  radiate,  so  to  speak, 
her  appreciation  of  the  civil  intentions  of 
strangers,  and  all  the  while  be  impassive 
and  good  form.  People  who  had  studied 
her  said  she  did  it  with  her  eyes,  and  it 
may  have  been  so.  At  any  rate,  it  was  a 
gift  which  did  not  lessen  her  powers  of 
arousing  interest. 

"The  Oakdale  Raleigh,"  observed  Var- 
ick,  nodding  toward  Chalmers,  "  will 
spread  his  coat  over  the  wheel,  and  you 
may  descend." 

Chalmers  blushed,  and  performed  that 
service.  Thereupon  Miss  Carteret  got 
down  altogether  successfully.  She  wore 
exceptionally  good  boots,  for  a  woman. 


CARTY   CARTERET'S   SISTER  209 

"  May  I  present  these  fortunate  men?  " 
asked  Varick.  "  We  shall  then  suffer 
Forbes  to  go  ahead  with  his  equine  para 
dox."  At  this  moment  a  groom  appeared, 
leading  a  big  raw-boned  bay  gelding,  which 
he  proceeded  to  trot  around  the  circle  of 
turf  in  front  of  the  house.  A  serious 
silence  fell  upon  the  company. 

"  He  's  not  very  much  to  look  at  yet," 
Forbes  remarked ;  "  but  he  's  clever,  and 
is  going  to  make  a  serviceable  horse  in  any 
kind  of  going.  What  do  you  think  of  him, 
Bennings?" 

"  A  bit  rough — a  bit  rough,  old  chap," 
Mr.  Bennings  replied  regretfully.  "  Don't 
you  agree  with  me,  Miss  Carteret?" 

"  Oh,  quite,"  said  Miss  Carteret. 
"  Positively  malicious.  I  don't  like  his 
color,  either,  and  he  's  too  thin." 

Colfax  suddenly  guffawed,  and  the  men 
regarded  him  curiously,  and  asked  him 
whether  he  was  in  pain. 

"By  Jove — 'malicious'!"  exclaimed 
Mr.  Bennings.  "That  's  capital!  And 
you  are  correct  about  his  condition.  At 
least,  that  's  my  idea,"  he  added,  with  a 

deferential  glance  at  the  rest  of  the  com- 
M 


210  GALLOPS    I 

pany.  "  I  must  have  more  flesh  at  this 
time  of  year — ten  stone  more,  at  least." 
Miss  Carteret  looked  at  him  out  of  the 
corner  of  her  eye.  "  Really,  now,  Forbes, 
that  fellow  would  n't  last  the  season,"  he 
went  on.  "  But  his  color  will  assuredly 
brighten.  Oh,  yes ;  his  color  will  brighten." 

"Do  you  think  so?"  asked  Miss  Car 
teret.  "  I  'm  very  particular  about  color." 

"And  quite  right — and  quite  right!" 
exclaimed  Mr.  Bennings.  "  The  Duke  of 
Beaufort  lays  great  stress  on  color.  Says 
you  can  invariably  tell  condition  by  it. 
Lord  Wicke  disregards  it,  but  I  admit  I 
agree  with  the  duke.  It  takes  a  clever 
eye,  though — a  devilish  clever  eye!" 

"  I  'm  glad  to  hear  you  say  that,"  said 
Miss  Carteret.  "  You  know,  people  some 
times  laugh  at  me  for  judging  horses  by 
their  color."  She  was  on  the  point  of  re 
marking  that  she  preferred  circus  horses, 
with  black  and  white  geographical  divi 
sions,  when  Forbes  spoke : 

"  I  '11  have  to  tell  you  that  if  you  take 
anything,  I  must  reserve  the  right  to  show 
in  November.  I  've  got  them  all  entered, 


CARTY   CARTERET'S    SISTER  211 

you  see,  and  they  're  being  schooled  for 
the  green  classes." 

"  Of  course  that  's  all  right,  Captain 
Forbes,"  Miss  Carteret  answered,  with  a 
smile.  "  And  you  can  keep  all  the  prizes, 
too ;  only  you  really  must  give  me  the 
blue  ribbons.  I  shall  have  a  glass  case 
made,  and  pin  them  up  in  rows."  The 
men  laughed,  and  Varick  remarked  that 
it  was  a  very  good  way  to  store  blue 
ribbons,  only  he  had  never  tried  it  him 
self. 

"  I  say,"  whispered  Bennings  to  Colfax, 
"she  's  a  tremendous  chaffer;  ain't  she?" 

"Is  she?"  replied  Mr.  Colfax. 

The  talk  subsided  again  as  a  second 
horse  appeared.  It  was  a  big,  well-made 
chestnut  with  a  free,  sweeping  action,  and 
a  showy  way  of  carrying  its  head. 

"By  Jove!"  exclaimed  Mr.  Bennings. 
"  Now,  here  we  are !  That  's  a  rare  good 
one — regular  old-country  type,  is  n't  it?" 
He  looked  at  Miss  Carteret. 

She  hesitated  a  moment,  and  surveyed 
the  animal. 

"  Without  doubt,"  she  replied.     "  I  sup- 


212  GALLOPS    I 

pose,"  she  added  gravely,  "  they  must  call 
him  Jenson  or  Black-letter." 

"Yes,  of  course,"  said  Bennings.  He 
kept  his  eyes  on  the  horse.  "  Now,  that 
one  will  jump  like  a  buck,  I  '11  wager. 
Look  at  his  quarters!  Ah,  what  a  pair 
of  breeches!"  he  ejaculated  soulfully. 
"Lovely  shoulder,  too,  is  n't  it?"  Miss 
Carteret  nodded  approvingly.  "  I  say, 
Forbes,"  he  called,  "  ask  your  head  lad  to 
move  him  round  again,  will  you  ?  What 's 
the  price  on  him?  " 

"  Fifteen  hundred,"  answered  Forbes. 
"  He  's  up  to  any  weight.  You  can  see 
that  yourself.  What  do  you  think  of  him, 
Miss  Carteret?" 

Miss  Carteret  gasped,  but  disguised  it  in 
a  little  cough.  The  folly  of  spending  sev 
eral  satisfactory  gowns  on  one  beast  struck 
her  forcibly. 

"  Well,"  she  said,  "  this  is  a  rather  more 
expensive  type  than  I  want." 

"You  are  quite  right,"  observed  Mr. 
Bennings,  as  Forbes  moved  off.  "  You 
know,  there  is  no  sense  in  paying  for 
weight  one  does  n't  need,  is  there  ?  What 
do  you  ride  at?" 


CARTY   CARTERET'S   SISTER  213 

Miss  Carteret  thought  earnestly. 

"Really,"  she  replied,  "I  don't  know 
exactly."  She  was  on  the  point  of  add 
ing  that  she  had  never  ridden  at  anything, 
but  checked  herself. 

Bennings  looked  at  her  critically.  "  I 
should  say  about  ten  stone,"  he  observed. 

"  I  dare  say  that 's  just  it,"  she  answered. 
"  In  fact,  I  know  it  is.  I  remember,  now, 
distinctly." 

"  I  have  a  rather  good  eye  for  weight," 
he  remarked.  "  Hello !  here  's  Braybrooke. 
What  's  up,  old  chap?  Thought  you 
were  n't  coming." 

"  Changed  my  mind,"  replied  Mr.  Bray 
brooke.  "Good  lot,  are  n't  they?"  He 
gave  his  horse  to  a  groom. 

"  They  've  only  begun,"  said  Bennings. 
"  I  fancy  this  chestnut,  though.  He  must 
be  better  than  three  quarters  bred,  and  ex 
cellent  bone,  too.  By  the  way,  if  you  '11 
pardon  me,  you  know,  Mrs.  Braybrooke 
certainly  was  mistaken  this  morning.  That 
girl,  you  know,  has  a  capital  eye,  and,  by 
Jove,  understands  color  uncommonly  well. 
She  called  it  on  a  rangy  bay  that  ought  to 

be  fleshed  for  six  months.     And  you  know, 

15 


*H  GALLOPS    I 

old  chap,  that  's  a  deuced  fine  point." 
Braybrooke  glanced  apprehensively  toward 
the  group  of  men,  and  fell  to  studying  a 
cow  in  the  field  beyond.  "  But  of  course 
she  ought  to  be  a  keen  one,"  added  Mr. 
Bennings.  "  She  's  Carty  Carteret's  sister. 
You  know,  I  was  with  Carty  at  Melton 
last  winter,  when  he  went  through  thirty 
minutes  with  a  broken  shoulder-blade." 

"Really!"  observed  Braybrooke.  He 
was  still  considering  the  cow. 

As  the  next  horse  was  led  out,  he 
caught  Miss  Carteret's  eye,  and  beckoned 
her  aside.  "  Have  you  bought  anything 
yet?  "  he  inquired. 

She  shook  her  head. 

"  Well,  as  a  personal  favor,  I  wish  you 
would  n't.  You  see,  we  've  got  a  stable 
full  that  you  can  ride  whenever  you  want, 
and  you  'd  only  pay  twelve  or  fifteen  hun 
dred  for  something  that  would  be  very 
likely  too  much  for  you  when  you  got  him. 
If  you  must  own  something,  pick  up  a 
cheap  pony  to  hack  about." 

"All  right,"  said  the  girl.  "You  're 
really  a  very  nice  boy,  Jimmy,  and  I  don't 


CARTY   CARTERET'S   SISTER  215 

like  to  tease  you.  But  you  need  n't  say 
anything  to  Captain  Forbes." 

Just  then  Forbes  and  Varick  came  up. 

"  What  do  you  think  of  this  one?" 
inquired  Forbes,  nodding  toward  a  well- 
turned  little  black  mare. 

"  Perfectly  sweet,"  Miss  Carteret  an 
swered.  "  But  I  think  I  '11  watch  the  rest 
from  the  veranda.  It  's  too  hot  here." 
She  turned  to  Varick.  "  Will  you  come 
up  and  tell  me  all  about  them?"  she 
asked. 

He  looked  at  her  curiously. 

"  I  dare  say  you  know  a  great  deal  more 
about  such  things  than  I  do,"  he  said.  He 
dragged  a  steamer-chair  into  position. 
"  You  see,  I  'm  only  an  amateur,  a  dilet 
tante," — he  noted  the  way  she  was  turned 
out, — "and  you — well,  you  're  Carty  Car- 
teret's  sister." 

She  threw  her  head  back  and  laughed. 

"  Two  weeks  ago,"  she  said,  "  I  read  six 
pages  of  a  book  called  '  The  Anatomy  of 
the  Horse.'  That 's  all  I  know.  You  see," 
she  went  on  confidentially,  "  Eleanor  and 
Carty  have  made  my  life  a  burden.  The 


2i6  GALLOPS    I 

more  they  talked  horse,  the  more  I  de 
spised  the  whole  thing.  But  you  are  out 
of  it  here  if  you  don't  like  horses,  so  when 
Nell  asked  me  down  I  thought  I  'd  try  a 
new  tack.  You  see,  I  've  suspected  all 
along  that  they  did  n't  understand  half  the 
things  they  said.  They  just  mumble  gib 
berish,  like  that  unfortunate  Mr.  Bennings 
— now,  don't  they?" 

"  I  must  decline  to  answer,"  replied  Var- 
ick.  "  It  might  incriminate  me." 

"There,  I  knew  it!"  she  exclaimed  tri 
umphantly.  "  I  just  decided  to  cram  up  a 
little,  and  look  knowing;  and  then  I  got 
all  these  clothes.  I  knew  I  could  fool 
them.  I  can't  take  in  Nell  and  Willie,  of 
course ;  so  I  practise  on  them,  and  when 
they  tell  me  I  'm  foolish  I  know  enough 
not  to  say  that  again.  It  's  really  been 
amusing.  Mr.  Bennings  thoroughly  be 
lieves  in  me."  She  stopped,  and  watched 
the  little  knots  of  men  in  the  roadway. 
"  Are  all  those  grown  men  honestly  poring 
over  that  horse?  "  she  asked. 

"They  are,"  said  Varick.  "An  occa 
sion  like  this  is  a  sacrament  to  them." 


CARTV   CARTERET'S   SISTER  217 

"  How  funny  it  is,  when  you  think  about 
it!"  she  exclaimed.  "  And  do  they  really 
find  out  all  sorts  of  things  when  they  feel 
his  legs  and  look  at  his  teeth?" 

"They  really  do,"  said  Varick.  "  In  a 
rudimentary  way,  I  can  do  it  myself." 

"Well,"  she  sighed,  "it  's  beyond  me. 
It 's  like  a  telegraph  ticking.  I  hear  it, 
but  I  can't  understand  what  it  means.  I 
know  a  white  horse  from  a  brown  one,  and 
I  have  a  preference  for  long  tails,  which  I 
consider  sensible.  You  see,  when  you  are 
driving,  it 's  the  tail  you  see  most  of,  is  n't 
it?  A  system  of  judging  horses  by  their 
tails  would  appeal  to  me.  But  what  dif 
ference  does  it  make  whether  a  horse  has 
fluted  colonial  legs,  or  smooth  round  ones? 
Absolutely  none!" 

"  Please,  a  little  lower,"  suggested  Var-, 
ick,  "  Somebody  might  hear." 

She  laughed. 

"  But  seriously,"  she  continued,  "  I 
should  like  to  get  a  horse  with  a  long  tail. 
My  father  insists  on  having  his  horses 
docked,  and  I  'm  sick  of  them.  They 
did  n't  use  to  do  it.  My  grandfather  used 


2i8  GALLOPS    I 

to  take  me  driving  with  a  pair  of  thorough 
breds  that  had  tails  that  touched  the 
ground,  and  they  could  trot — I  don't  know 
how  fast! — in  a  minute,  I  think." 

"Do  you  remember,"  said  Varick,  art 
lessly,  "  that  there  was  a  time — you  must 
remember  it — when  your  mother  wore  very 
tight  sleeves?" 

"Thank  you,"  she  replied.  "I  've 
trunks  full  of  them  myself.  But  people 
are  the  only  animals  silly  enough  to 
have  fashions.  It  's  wicked  to  put  horses 
on  the  same  basis." 

She  looked  down  the  lawn  toward  the 
gateway,  where  something  passing  behind 
the  shrubbery  attracted  her  attention.  In 
a  moment  a  fat,  undersized  gray  horse 
jogged  into  view,  drawing  a  shabby 
Hempstead  cart.  Presently  he  subsided 
into  a  sober  walk.  From  his  rough  coat 
and  fetlocks  he  seemed  to  be  of  Percheron 
origin.  As  he  drew  nearer  a  fly  attacked 
him,  and  he  switched  a  superb  tail. 

"There!"  exclaimed  Miss  Carteret. 
"That  is  the  kind. of  horse  I  really  want. 
Just  look  at  that  tail!" 


CARTY   CARTERET'S   SISTER  219 

"Good  heavens,"  cried  Varick,  "but 
you  must  n't!" 

She  seemed  not  to  hear  him. 

"  Do  you  think,"  she  went  on,  "  that  no 
one  would  take  me  seriously  if  I  bought 
that  horse  ?  "  Varick  chuckled.  "  I  have 
a  little  plan,"  she  added,  and  went  down 
the  steps. 

"  Glad  to  see  you  are  going  to  join  us 
again,"  said  Mr.  Bennings,  bowing  pro 
fusely. 

"  Mr.  Bennings,"  said  Miss  Carteret,  "  if 
I  buy  a  horse,  will  you  ride  him  home?" 

Mr.  Bennings  beamed. 

"  My  dear  Miss  Carteret,"  he  cried, 
"anything!  Anywhere!" 

"  Thank  you  so  much,"  she  said  sweetly. 
She  turned  away,  and  went  over  to  Forbes 
and  Galloway. 

"  Captain  Forbes,"  she  said,  "  Mr.  Ben 
nings  has  promised  to  ride  my  horse  home. 
He  's  been  very  nice  to  me,  and  I  really 
think  he  would  like  to  do  it.  Besides,  he 
is  a  good  horseman,  and  I  feel  that  I  can 
trust  him.  I  want  to  buy  that  gray  horse 
in  the  cart." 


220  GALLOPS    I 

Forbes  and  Galloway  looked  at  each 
other  and  then  at  Mr.  Bennings.  They 
showed  symptoms  of  exploding. 

"  Please  be  very  serious,"  she  said. 
"  What  's  his  name,  and  how  much  is 
he?" 

"  His  name,"  replied  Forbes,  gravely, 
"  is  Birdofreedom,  and  he  does  my  mar 
keting.  I  have  never  considered  offering 
him  for  sale.  He  is  worth  about  fifty 
dollars  to  me,  though  that  may  be  extor 
tionate." 

"  It  is,"  said  Galloway;  "  say  ten." 

"  No,"  replied  Miss  Carteret;  "  I  'm  not 
going  to  bargain  with  you.  I  '11  send  you 
a  check  to-morrow  for  fifty  dollars.  Will 
you  have  him  saddled  and  brought  down 
when  the  cart  comes?  I  don't  want  to 
keep  Mr.  Bennings  waiting.  No,"  she  re 
plied  to  Forbes's  invitation;  "we  can't 
stop  to  lunch.  We  promised  Mrs.  Bray- 
brooke  we  'd  be  back.  Besides,  I  want 
her  to  see  my  horse.  You  know,  she 
thinks  I  don't  know  anything  about  horses." 

"  I  say,"  gasped  Galloway,  his  sides  shak 
ing,  "  Bennings  will  never  get  over  this!" 


CARTY   CARTERET'S   SISTER  221 

"Get  over  what?"  said  Miss  Carteret, 
innocently.  She  nodded  to  Varick,  and  he 
joined  her.  "  I  've  bought  him,"  she  said, 
"  and  Mr.  Bennings  is  going  to  ride  him 
home.  You  won't  tell  about  our  talk,  will 
you?  " 

Varick  replied  with  difficulty. 

"  No,"  he  said  ;  "  I  am  your  dumb  slave. 
Hello!  there  's  your  trap." 

Willie  Colfax  drove  up  to  the  old-fash 
ioned  horse-block,  and  stopped. 

"  Better  hurry  up ! "  he  called.  "  We  're 
late  now.  Good-by,  Forbes;  sorry  we 
can't  stop." 

"  Sorry  too,"  said  Forbes.  He  turned 
to  Miss  Carteret,  and  helped  her  up. 
"  They  're  getting  your  horse  out  as  fast 
as  possible.  Bennings  won't  mind  waiting. 
We  '11  give  him  something  to  drink." 

"  Very  well,"  said  Miss  Carteret.  "  Per 
haps  I  would  just  as  soon  not  see  Mr. 
Bennings  start  off.  You  won't  mind  wait 
ing  a  minute?  "  she  called  to  him.  "  You 
can  overtake  us,  you  know,  and  Jimmy 
will  wait,  too.  Good-by." 

"What  was  all  that?"  demanded  Willie 


222  GALLOPS    I 

Colfax.  He  swung  his  thong,  and  the 
horses  went  away  at  a  gallop. 

Miss  Carteret  explained.  What  she  said 
was  accurate,  as  far  as  it  went.  She  con 
sidered  it  unnecessary,  however,  to  dwell 
upon  her  own  feelings  toward  Birdofree- 
dom. 

"Well,"  said  Mr.  Colfax,  "you  're  a 
peach!" 

"  And  you  '11  wait  and  let  them  catch 
up?"  she  asked. 

"  We  certainly  must  give  Nell  the  pro 
cession  effect,"  he  observed.  Instead  of 
waiting,  however,  he  tore  around  a  two- 
mile  loop,  which  brought  them  to  the 
Braybrookes'  gateway  just  as  Braybrooke 
and  Mr.  Bennings  were  arriving. 

Mrs.  Braybrooke  was  on  the  steps  as  they 
drove  up.  They  were  late. 

"  What 's  that  Mr.  Bennings  is  riding?  " 
she  demanded. 

"  That,"  said  Miss  Carteret,  proudly,  "  is 
my  horse." 

Birdofreedom  approached,  and  Mrs. 
Braybrooke  studied  him. 

"Polly    Carteret!"    she    exclaimed,— it 


CARTY   CARTERET'S   SISTER  223 

was  almost  a  scream, — "  what  on  earth  do 
you  mean? — Jimmy!" 

"  He  's  virtually  sound,"  said  Bray- 
brooke. 

His  wife  turned  and  stalked  into  the 
house. 

"  There,  now,  Mr.  Bennings,"  said  Miss 
Carteret,  mournfully,  "  you  see  how  a 
horse  will  separate  friends!" 

"  Aw — certainly,"  said  Mr.  Bennings. 
"  Will  you  kindly  ring  for  somebody  from 
the  stables?"  His  manner  was  stiff.  He 
realized  that  he  had  overrated  Miss  Car 
teret' s  eye  for  horse-flesh.  "  Just  fawncy 
buyin'  such  a  brute!"  he  said  to  himself. 
"  Just  fawncy ! "  The  girl  was  a  disap 
pointment.  It  mortified  him  to  misjudge 
people,  and  he  went  back  to  town  that  night. 

ACCORDING  to  the  account  which  Varick 
afterward  gave  Miss  Carteret  of  Forbes's 
lunch-party,  it  had  been  notable  for  two 
reasons.  First,  "  horse  "  was  neglected  in 
a  manner  without  precedent. 

"  You  see,"  said  Varick,  "  it  was  unani 
mously  concluded,  something  more  than  a 


224  GALLOPS    I 

dozen  times,  that  you  were  a  bully  girl, 
and  had  revenged  the  American  people  on 
that  ass  Bennings.  That  took  up  nearly 
all  the  time.  And  besides  the  absence  of 
'  horse,'  there  was  an  interesting  display  of 
woman  nature.  When  Mrs.  Forbes  heard 
the  story,  she  remarked  in  her  quiet  way : 
'  Well,  I  don't  see  how  there  was  any  joke 
on  Mr.  Bennings.  I  just  think  that  girl 
took  a  fancy  to  Birdofreedom,  and  I  'm 
sorry  he  's  sold.  He  had  such  a  lovely 
tail!'  Naturally  the  laugh  was  on  Mrs. 
Forbes."  Here  both  Varick  and  Miss 
Carteret  smiled.  "  You  know,  she  distin 
guishes  a  horse  from  a  cow,  and  that  's 
about  all.  She  devotes  her  life  to  six 
children.  When  we  had  got  through  enjoy 
ing  the  joke,  Forbes  said  reproachfully  (it 
mortifies  him  to  have  his  wife  display  her 
ignorance) :  '  Perhaps  you  don't  know,  my 
dear,  that  she  's  Carty  Carteret's  sister.  If 
you  think  best,  I  '11  explain  about  Bennings 
later.'  " 

When  Varick  finished  this  recital  Miss 
Carteret  extended   her  hand  and  let  him 


CARTY   CARTERET'S   SISTER  225 

hold  it  longer  than  was  really  necessary. 
She  was  a  very  honorable  girl  about  rec 
ognizing  her  obligations. 

"  I  shall  keep  away  from  Mrs.  Forbes," 
she  said. 

Miss  Carteret  was  much  interested  in 
what  Varick  had  told  her.  It  explained 
certain  things  which  had  puzzled  her,  and 
she  disliked  being  puzzled.  When  they 
had  sat  down  to  their  own  lunch  on  the 
day  of  Birdofreedom's  purchase,  Bray- 
brooke  had  been  severe  and  dismal.  He 
had  made  her  feel  that  she  had  disgraced 
the  family.  But  in  the  middle  of  the  meal 
he  had  been  called  to  the  telephone,  and 
had  come  back  affable — more  than  affable, 
for  he  was  talkative,  and  called  her  a  "  bad 
girl."  She  knew  then  that  something  had 
come  over  the  wire  which  reinstated  her. 
The  fact  was  that  Galloway  had  telephoned 
from  Forbes's  an  invitation  to  dinner  which 
he  had  forgotten  to  deliver;  and  before  he 
rang  off  he  had  added : 

"  I  say,  Brooky,  the  Carteret  girl  's  a 
queen.  I  'd  give  my  jumping  cow  to  get 


226  GALLOPS    I 

as  good  a  one  on  that  beast  Bennings. 
Forbes  and  Varick  have  let  the  thing  out." 

"  What  thing?  "  said  Braybrooke. 

"  Why,  buying  that  plug  for  a  joke,  you 
foolish,"  said  Galloway.  "  Are  n't  you 
'on 'yet?  Ta-ta!" 


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